page_title: Vaccine hesitancy
section_title: Events following reductions in vaccination
hierarchical_section_title: Vaccine hesitancy / Events following reductions in vaccination
caption_attribution_description: One Campaign protesters outside the GAVI pledging event, London, 13 June 2011 The British government is co-hosting a vaccine summit on Monday 13 June, calling on international partners to join the UK in spearheading a global effort to vaccinate a quarter of a billion children by 2015. The drive is set to save the lives of four million children across the developing world. To find out more, please visit: www.dfid.gov.uk/Media-Room/News-Stories/2011/GAVI-Pledgin...
context_page_description: Vaccine hesitancy, also known as anti-vaccination or anti-vax, is a reluctance or refusal to be vaccinated or to have one's children vaccinated against contagious diseases despite the availability of vaccination services. It is identified by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten global health threats of 2019. The term encompasses outright refusal to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. Arguments against vaccination are contradicted by overwhelming scientific consensus about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
  Hesitancy primarily results from public debates around the medical, ethical and legal issues related to vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy stems from multiple key factors including a person's lack of confidence, complacency, and convenience. It has existed since the invention of vaccination, and pre-dates the coining of the terms "vaccine" and "vaccination" by nearly 80 years. The specific hypotheses raised by anti-vaccination advocates have been found to change over time. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases.
context_section_description: In several countries, reductions in the use of some vaccines were followed by increases in the diseases' morbidity and mortality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continued high levels of vaccine coverage are necessary to prevent resurgence of diseases that have been nearly eliminated. Pertussis remains a major health problem in developing countries, where mass vaccination is not practiced; the World Health Organization estimates it caused 294,000 deaths in 2002. Vaccine hesitancy has contributed to the resurgence of preventable disease. For example, in 2019, the number of measles cases increased by 30% worldwide and many cases occurred in countries that had nearly eliminated measles.
caption: Campaigners in London for expanded vaccination in the developing world
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