As a result of this misinformation in the media, many parents are delaying or even preventing immunising their children due to false claims linking vaccines and autism.
First, parents who do not vaccinate their children not only put their children at risk of serious illnesses but also make it challenging for the community to maintain herd immunity, thereby putting other children at risk. Special groups of people who cannot be vaccinated, including those with compromised immune systems, rely on the general public being vaccinated for their risk of exposure to be reduced.
Additionally, the threat of death by disease is not the only medical consequence of skipping vaccinations. An unvaccinated child faces lifelong differences that could potentially put them at risk. Unvaccinated children may require exceptional, out of the ordinary treatment. Thus, medical staff may not be familiar with or are inexperienced in the procedures necessary to provide the appropriate treatment.
Also, pregnant but unvaccinated women may be more susceptible to illnesses that might impair their pregnancy.
Anti-vax movements have been growing all over the world. Fake news related to the COVID-19 virus had been spread throughout social media platforms in 2020, taking advantage of the existing fears and uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, fostering panic, suspicion, and confusion.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) classify the anti-vaccine movement as one of the ten greatest risks to global health. Anti-vaccine movements, according to the WHO, are as harmful as viruses because they threaten to reverse the progress made in combatting vaccine-preventable diseases – diseases that have begun to resurface among children throughout the world.
This has significant implications for public policy on fake news. Governments and social media companies should and have the responsibility in fighting false information. Fake news has the capacity to impact people’s behaviour, with severe negative consequences not only for them but also for those around them. Therefore, preventing the dissemination of vaccines and immunisation misinformation provide large benefits for the whole community.