Vaccine Hesitancy

Question 1

what is herd immunity

Answer 1

• when enough people in a population are immune and the rate of new infections declines

Question 2

what proportion of the population need to be immune for the rate of new infections to decline

Answer 2

herd immunity = 1- 1/R0
- not the same for all diseases
- depends on how infectious it is

Question 3

what does success of a vaccination program depend on

Answer 3

depends on population uptake

Question 4

what does population uptake relate to

Answer 4

1. convenience of the vaccine- how available it is
2. confidence in it- info in media, from government/professionals
3. complacency- individual perception of risk

Question 5

what is vaccine hesitancy

Answer 5

refers to a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services
- is complex and context specific varying across time, place and vaccines
- is influenced by convenience, complacent and confidence

Question 6

what is WHOs target for vaccinations

Answer 6

95%

Question 7

when is the MMR vaccine administered

Answer 7

once at 12 months and again at 3 years 4 months

Question 8

what did the Wakefield paper 1998 claim

Answer 8

1. children developed autism within 1 month of MMR and had GI symptoms
2. postulated MMR caused intestinal inflammation, led translocation of usually impermeable peptides to the bloodstream, then to the brain where they affected development

Question 9

what are the flaws of the Wakefield study and why was the paper retracted

Answer 9

1. small biased sample
2. conflicts of interest
3. no control
4. endoscopic/neurophysiological assessments were not blind
5. GI symptoms did not predate autism in several children
6. no encephalopathic peptides have ever been identified between GI and brain

Question 10

what was the response to the flawed study

Answer 10

1. flurry of studies refuted the original study
2. lancet retracted original study
3. government drives to encourage vaccination
4. media runs research scandal story

Question 11

describe the role of the media

Answer 11

1. plays role in shaping public confidence in medicines
2. large proportion of posts about vaccines are anti vaccinations
3. bigger threat to disinformation as well as misinformation

Question 12

what are the causes of COVID 19 vaccine hesitancy

Answer 12

1. concerns about future unknown effects
2. worries about side effects
3. concern that others are in more urgent need of vaccine
4. lack of trust in vaccines

Question 13

what can pharmacists do to improve vaccine hesitancy

Answer 13

1. improve access to vaccinations
2. community engagement to raise awareness
3. tailor communication to individual concerns