In contrast, a physician may regard death due to a vaccine-preventable disease as worse. Informational sources to aid communication include the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the American Academy of Pediatrics Red Book, the Vaccine Information Statements, the Standards for Immunization Practices, Six Common Misconceptions about Vaccination and How to Respond to Them and the CDC National Immunization Program hotline and website, but these tools are not being used. Understanding the perceived risks Gina Terracciano, DO, also from the CDC Vaccine Safety and Development Activity Division, used methods from the book Responding to Community Outrage to explain why some parents become distressed about childhood immunization. She described risk as a combination of hazard and outrage. Hazard was defined as the result of magnitude and probability, and outrage as all things people are worried about, but experts ignore.
Most people feel less at risk when it is their choice.
Parents want control A related outrage factor deals with control. The perceived risk is much less when a person is in control of their own actions, as opposed to being controlled by others. Terracciano said, for example, the composition of the vaccine is not controlled by the parent and therefore, they feel at risk. Natural risks seem to be more acceptable then man-made risks. Familiarity also plays a part because familiar risks and surroundings diminish outrage.