Social media propagating negative information on vaccination

London: Negative messages about vaccines propagated on the social media are acting as the main barrier to vaccinations, a report from the UK-based charity Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) has revealed.
The report, titled “Moving the Needle”, identified two in five (41 per cent) parents, saying they are often or sometimes exposed to negative messages about vaccines on social media.
This increased to as many as one in two (50 per cent) among parents with children under five years old.
Traditional media, on the other hand, continued to be influential and was highlighted by healthcare professionals as impacting the public’s views on vaccines.
The fear of side effects of vaccines was found to be the primary reason for choosing not to vaccinate, while lack of confidence in the effectiveness of the vaccine was the key reason for parents choosing not to vaccinate their children against flu, the report said.
“Fear and misinformation about vaccines can cause significant damage to seemingly stable vaccination programmes,” said RSPH Chief Executive Shirley Cramer.