Why Do Some Parents Choose Not to Vaccinate Their Children?
by Blandina Steinhauslin, AILO Florence
There have been many studies on this topic, and there are several reasons, but they can be reduced to four: religious, personal beliefs/philosophical reasons, safety concerns, and a desire for more information.
Religious reasons concern the components of vaccines. Some vaccines are produced with gelatin derived from animals or human fetus tissue, in the case of the rubella vaccine. By researching vaccines that do not necessitate these kinds of components, parents may find vaccination more acceptable.
Some parents believe:
- it is better for children to contract some preventable diseases
- natural immunity is better than immunity acquired through vaccination
- the immune system of a child who has contracted a preventable disease grows stronger
- it is better not to put too many chemicals into their children
- a healthy diet and lifestyle decrease the risk of contracting diseases
- preventable diseases can be easily treated
Safety concerns are usually based on information received from other people or media reports. They raise doubts about short-term adverse reactions and long-lasting negative effects.
Media often report problems with vaccines, spread misinformation and sensationalize rare incidents of side effects in order to increase ratings. This causes perplexity in some parents who will choose to refuse vaccines. It is important that parents have a trustful and open relationship with their children’s pediatricians to dissipate any doubt.
Some parents feel that they do not have enough information and find it difficult to obtain proper feedback from healthcare providers. Parents would like easy conversations in which they can ask questions without feeling judged or attacked. With the proper information they would be able to make informed decisions about their children’s health.
The Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics has more on vaccine hesitancy.
The World Health Organization recommends and supports vaccination policy worldwide.
In 2017, more than 20 million additional children received immunization. In spite of this, measles and diphtheria have caused many deaths because of low coverage in certain countries and/or pockets of low coverage in certain others, as explained by this article.
Countries must work harder towards promoting vaccinations (and follow-up doses, where necessary), providing better information and support to parents who are in doubt about immunization. This is an extremely important matter for universal health and the future of our children.
https://www.who.int/immunization/global_vaccine_action_plan/en/