Covid-19 has emboldened anti-vaxxers, potentially making the virus last longer

Vaccines have long been a contentious topic for parents, with any parenting message board or social media group you visit having some form of heated discussion on their safety and efficacy.

A survey by the Royal Society for Public Health found that more than one in five British parents thought that the MMR vaccine was likely to cause unwanted side effects, and one in ten said they had chosen not to give a child the MMR vaccine.

In recent years uptake of all childhood vaccines has reduced, which suggests that this unease translates to inaction from parents, and also correlates with a resurgence of diseases like measles which had been previously been eradicated (as of 2016 the UK is no longer considered ‘measles-free’).

Far from a fringe debate for a small number of new parents, though, the Covid-19 pandemic has put the vaccination uptake issue into the spotlight, and as a result, appears to have emboldened those who believe vaccines are harmful or not worth taking.

Protestors across the world have gathered in major cities in recent weeks to argue against lockdown measures, with many holding placards decrying a vaccine (despite none being available at present).

Even high-profile figures have shown mistrust for vaccines, with tennis player Novak Djokovic saying in a Facebook live video ‘Personally I am opposed to vaccination and I wouldn’t want to be forced by someone to take a vaccine in order to be able to travel,’ and singer MIA tweeting ‘If I have to choose the vaccine or chip I’m gonna choose death.’

The World Health Organisation stated last year that vaccine hesitancy – the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines – was one of the ten biggest dangers facing the world, and this global health crisis has made clear just how deadly misinformation and lack of clarity can be.

The words ‘herd immunity’ have been in the headlines since the pandemic took hold in Britain in early March, with claims from government sources that this would be part of the government’s strategy.

But, herd immunity tends to be something associated with vaccines specifically, being defined as ‘the resistance to the spread of a contagious disease within a population that results in a sufficiently high proportion of individuals are immune to the disease, especially through vaccination.’

With no vaccine available, and at the time no definitive proof that those who had already contracted coronavirus would be immune, these claims of achieving herd immunity with no vaccine created a disconnect in the meaning of the term.

Subsequently, an ORB International survey of opinions from 6 to 7 May shows that 10% of UK respondents said they were unwilling to be vaccinated for coronavirus and 13% were unsure.

Elsewhere the problem is decidedly worse, with studies showing that, in the US, up to 45% of adults don’t trust vaccines.

Where does the distrust of vaccines come from? Here in Britain, one of the catalysts for the anti-vax (vaccine sceptic) movement was a report by Andrew Wakefield that suggested the MMR inoculation caused autism.

Although the GMC found that Wakefield had been dishonest in his research and he was struck off from the UK medical register, the public perception between the link persisted.

From here, it’s mainly word of mouth (or keyboard) that spreads vaccine misinformation.

31% of parents who use chatrooms and discussion forums around vaccines would feel doubts about immunising their children compared to 8% amongst all parents.

A study by the Vaccine Confidence Project also found that Facebook pages that promoted an anti-vax sentiment were ‘more numerous, faster growing, and increasingly more connected to undecided pages’ compared to pro-vax ones.

With the pandemic as it is, killing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, people will be forced to put their money where their mouths are in terms of accepting or denying a coronavirus vaccine.

But rather than backing down, staunch anti-vaxxers are doubling down, and will continue to do so.

One Reddit user we spoke to who goes by the username EnoughNoLibsSpam said of the potential Covid-19 vaccine: ‘Not only will I NOT be taking any coronavirus vaccine but the Covid-19 hoax has woken up a lot of other people to the vaccine cult.

‘Yes vaccine cult.

‘My feelings will be the same as any other vaccine. “No thanks!”’

Another, who preferred to remain anonymous, said in a private message: ‘Covid-19 has changed nothing for me except to confirm my belief that vaccine development — because manufacturers in the United States have zero liability for vaccine injuries — is a process that lends itself to a dangerous product.’

Dr Perpetua Emeagi, a lecturer in Human Biology and Biological Sciences at Liverpool Hope University, says the failure of certain groups to be vaccinated could potentially result in new disease ‘epicentres’ forming. 

‘Any “gaps” in vaccination coverage can cause diseases to flare up. 

‘Avoidance of the MMR vaccine is thought to be the main reason behind the re-emergence of measles in the US – despite it being declared ‘eliminated’ by the World Health Organisation back in 2000. 

‘And when it comes to a potential Covid-19 vaccination, we need to learn lessons from these outbreaks if we’re to truly eradicate the disease.’

Many experts believe that the future of life as we knew it depends on a successful vaccine, and if large swathes of the population refuse it, it will be extremely difficult to curb its continuing spread.

For example, Dr Perpetua highlights the historical precedent of Kano State in Nigeria in the early 2000s. She says: ‘In this case political and religious leaders halted an immunisation campaign, urging parents not to vaccinate their children, due to the mistaken belief the drugs could be contaminated with anti-fertility agents, HIV, and even cancer-causing chemicals. 

‘By 2003, Kano State had become the epicentre of polio on a global scale. 

‘And when it comes to Covid-19, if a vaccine is developed, it’s vital that adoption is as widespread as possible to prevent new pockets of outbreaks from emerging continually in the future.

‘We’ll never truly eradicate the disease unless this happens.’

This is likely why Matt Hancock has hinted that if a coronavirus vaccine becomes available it may be compulsory.

Where the law stands on an issue like this is unclear. At present, we have no vaccines that are required – rather recommended.

Where the first frontier of this virus was healthcare workers treating infected patients, the second will be many of those same staff having to persuade vaccine-sceptic individuals to work with them and create herd immunity.

For measles, 95% of people need to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks, so a similar figure could need to also be achieved for Covid-19.

That high uptake percentage is no easy feat, and unfortunately it will be up to doctors and nurses to stress the importance of vaccinations to people.

Dr Toni Hazell, GP in Tottenham, explains how she works with people who aren’t confident in vaccines: ‘It is very frustrating when a parent refuses vaccination as I know that the vaccination is in the child’s best interests.

‘It’s important to explore the reason why – sometimes the parent believes that there is some truth in the MMR and autism story.

‘Explaining the evidence and that the lead author of the paper was struck off for fraud can sometimes help the parent to understand and vaccinate their child.

‘Unfortunately there is nothing that I can do to force a parent to protect their child from deadly diseases. All I can do is talk to them at every opportunity, try to involve the other parent and, finally, offer the missed vaccinations to the child when they turn 18.’

Like everything that’s come our way regarding this deadly virus, even the most accomplished and intelligent people are flying by the seat of their collective pants – simply because there’s so much we don’t know.

In that sense, it’s somewhat understandable that some may be uneasy about a new medicine that they might feel has been fast-tracked.

But without everybody’s cooperation, it may be a long time before we ever return to the ‘old normal’ that we miss so much.

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