Anti-Vaxxers Shut Down Immunization Events

J.Adderton, BSN, MSN

A Nevada non-profit organization that promotes vaccination canceled two scheduled events after anti-vaccinators posted harassing comments to social media. The two December fundraising events were organized by Immunize Nevada to honor healthcare workers who help with vaccinations. immunize Nevada’s Executive Director, Heidi Parker, told CNN “We looked at the whole picture and because we knew these events were to be celebrations in honor of immunization champions in Nevada, we don’t want there to be any risk”.

According to Parker, the events typically have about 200 attendees and the organization lost thousands of dollars due to the cancellations.

The On-line Posts

The anti-vaccine messages were posted as reviews on the hosting venues’ Yelp and Facebook pages. Unfortunately, this caused a drop in the venues’ overall ratings, despite Yelp and Facebook promptly removing the harassing comments.

One post accused a restaurant of “supporting Big Pharma’s agenda by hosting a vaccine incentive program”, and another post alleged immunizations cause an “incredible amount of harm to the most vulnerable”. The posts contradict overwhelming medical consensus and decades of scientific research that support the need for vaccination

Immunize Nevada’s Parker reported to CNN the organization has experienced an increase in extremist behaviors by anti-vaxxers. She cites an incident on December 11th where she was speaking at a Nevada legislative health care committee meeting and anti-vaxxers spoke out.

Anti-Vaxxers Now A Top Global Threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) named vaccine hesitancy as one of the top global threats of 2019. WHO defines vaccine hesitancy as the “reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability”. This was the first year the anti-vaccination movement was listed among the top ten global threats, joining air pollution, climate change, expected global pandemic flu, diabetes, HIV and cancer. According to WHO, vaccines prevent 2 to 3 million deaths each year. But, an additional 1.5 million lives could be saved if coverage of vaccinations improved globally.

In The U.S.

The CDC released a report, in October 2019, that estimated 100,00 young children in the U.S. had not been vaccinated against any of the 14 diseases recommended for immunization. While 70 percent of children receive all their vaccinations, officials worry diseases like polio and diphtheria could re-emerge with 30 percent of children remain unvaccinated.

The report revealed a relevant minority of children didn’t have health insurance coverage. It’s surprising these children were not vaccinated since there are government programs that will pay for immunizations for the uninsured.

The 3 C’s- Complacency, Inconvenience and Confidence

A vaccine advisory group at WHO has identified 3 main reasons why people may forego vaccination in the U.S.

Vaccine Complacency

Because of vaccinations, the risk of many diseases is low and some people view immunization as unnecessary. Past vaccination programs have been so successful, vaccines are now under-valued and the risk of vaccination outweighs the benefit for some.

Vaccination Convenience

Some people are influenced by the real (or perceived) convenience of vaccination services when making a decision to have recommended shots. “Convenience” factors that play a role in the decision to vaccinate may include:

The time and place of vaccination
Affordability of vaccination
What individual priority is placed being vaccinated

Vaccination Confidence

Vaccination confidence is the trust placed in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, as well as the competence of health professionals. People also base their decision to vaccinate on how much trust they have in the motivations of policymakers who decide what and when vaccines are needed.

Other Influencing Factors

Some may decide against vaccination for themselves or for their children because of religious beliefs or accepting incorrect information. According to the CDC, there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism, however, some do decide against vaccination based on this misinformation. You can learn more about this misconception and the overall safety of vaccines on the CDC website.

Immunize Nevada Moves Forward

Immunize Nevada decided to hold a virtual event, Big Shots Breakfast, instead of the planned live events. The online event was successful and raised $14,726 to go toward public education and providing free vaccines to vulnerable populations (senior citizens, homeless and uninsured families.

Do you think the anti-vaccination movement is a threat to your community? Let us hear from you.

Resources

Immunize Nevada

Event promoting vaccination called off in Nevada after harassing comments were posted on social media