Vaccine hesitancy

Vaccine hesitancy is the avoidance and dislike of the use of vaccines. Some people believe that vaccines cause more harm than help. Others, especially parents of children with allergies, think that kids are getting more vaccines than they need.

 Anti-Vaccination activism 
Anti-vaccination activism is about the disapproval of vaccination; in more recent years, anti-vaccinationists have been known as anti-vaxxers or anti-vax. Vaccine hesitancy may be situation-specific, changing across time, place, and types of vaccines.

 Causes of vaccine hesitancy 
It can be caused by a lack of scientifically-based knowledge and understanding of how vaccines are made, or how vaccines work. It can also be caused by other psychological factors, including fear of vaccination needles, or the doubt of public figures and politicians. Some anti-vaxxers believe that vaccines cause autism, which is not true.

 Parental influence 
Vaccine hesitancy for infants is also related to the health beliefs of parents. Parents with higher education levels are more likely to have their children vaccinated. On the other hand, children from families with incorrect beliefs or inaccurate teachings, or who also believe that vaccines cause allergies, are likely to have their vaccinations delayed by their parents.

 Religious influence 
Religion also plays an important part in anti-vaccination activism. Religious anti-vaccinationists may say vaccines are unnatural and as a result, unhealthy. Other opponents of vaccination question the need for vaccinating against rare diseases. This is ironic, because the lack of disease is a result of successful vaccination 

The contradictions of scientific evidence also has confused the public when making vaccine decisions. This is because the nature of scientific evidence encourages critical thinking and looking for facts. This can make the public struggle in believing existing vaccine science.

References

Category:Conspiracy theories
Category:Immunization
Category:Controversies