Whilst a small number of people are virulently anti-vaccination, the vast majority of “hesitant” people are just concerned parents.

They may have heard some of the more lurid stories, and most likely seen them amplified on social media, but at heart they just want their children to be safe.

There is good evidence that those who are likely to be hesitant will decision on vaccination in the last third of the pregnancy.  So try to introduce information about vaccinations during regular check ups during the pregnancy.

If doubts are expressed, schedule some time to talk about this specifically so they can see it is a serious issue.

Recognise that they have a genuine concern. Don’t belittle it or dismiss it. 

But you are a medical professional. They will trust your judgement. And unlike the “anti-vaxers”, you took the Hypocratic Oath and operate on the basis of  first, doing no harm.

Assuming you have them, tell them that you got your own kids vaccinated because you know it is the best way to keep them safe and keep the community safe.

There is also evidence that trying to scare parents about the dangers of a disease doesn’t really work. It just makes them scared about everything including vaccines. 

It is better to use data to show how vaccinating a child is a far less risky option than not vaccinating them. For example, before vaccination about 2,000 children under ten died in the UK every year from Measles. Today, on average only one child will suffer serious side-effects. (Actually, statistically it is less than one.)

Are you keen to run your own campaign to boost vaccine take up?

We can help you design bespoke literature, use social media to identify and target the communities you most need to reach and provide you with tailored messaging to make your campaign as impactful as possible. 

We have listed below links to some of the academic research on vaccines, their effectiveness, the effectiveness of messages and other sites where there is good information that you might find useful.

Data

National Archives statistics on causes of death 20th Century – https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20160111174808/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-215593

21st Century – https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/the21stcenturymortalityfilesdeathsdataset

Statistics on Vaccine take-up
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-immunisation-statistics/england-2018-19

Facts and Figures US death comparisons pre and post vaccines
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/209448

Government Advice
(Mostly for health professionals)

UK Government page on Immunisation – https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation

NICE Guidance on Immunisations: reducing differences in uptake in under 19s

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph21

NHS Advice

NHS vaccinations page – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/

Academic Advice

Oxford University Vaccine Knowledge Page – https://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vk/vaccine-safety

Royal College of Pediatrichians and Child Health – https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/resources/vaccination-uk-position-statement#key-messages-for-health-professionals

Support Groups

NCT information page – https://www.nct.org.uk/baby-toddler/postnatal-checks-and-immunisations/baby-immunisations-and-vaccinations

Action to counter hesitancy in particular communities

Tower Hamlets Somali Community
https://www.local.gov.uk/tower-hamlets-council-creative-promotion-vaccination

Interesting articles

CDC – When Mothers decide
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ST-4271_Fisher_CDC%20update%20on%20vaccine%20confidence-related%20activities_remediated.pdf

US research on who opposes Vaccination
https://www.advisory.com/daily-briefing/2019/05/13/antivax

Successful messaging
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4547299/

https://www.astho.org/Programs/Immunization/Communicating-Effectively-About-Vaccines–New-Communication-Resources-for-Health-Officials/

Framing of messaging
https://psyarxiv.com/ubp5s/

YouTube Video from the SciShow on why people think like they do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzxr9FZf1g

Educating sceptics on the consequences of not vaccinating helped reduce hesitancy
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01525/full#h1

Countering conspiracy theories with rational argument
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01525/full#h1

Interesting other websites

https://whywevax.org

https://familydoctor.org/vaccines/