Framing Childhood Vaccination in the United States: Getting Past Polarization in the Public Discourse

Abstract

C hildhood vaccination is once again a "hot topic" in the United States. Recent outbreaks of pertussis, mumps, and measles have ignited widespread public debates about vaccines including whether or not they are safe; who should get them and when; and who, if anyone, should be exempt from existing vaccination policies. A significant, yet often overlooked, aspect of these debates is that positions are generally represented as polarities: some parents and their supporters are portrayed as maintaining that partial, delayed, or complete non-vaccination is the best option for their children and that it is their right to make that choice ("anti-vaccination"); while others are portrayed as claiming that such choices are at best shortsighted and at worst abusive to both the children involved and the community at large ("pro-vaccination"). Drawing on research from California and Washington State, we argue that this stereotype of polarity is problematic because it obscures the complex and socially situated processes of childhood vaccination, including the forces that shape parents' vaccination decisions and ultimately children's vaccination outcomes. As an alternative, using Rose's (2015) critique of social science's fetishization of central tenden

A new approach to web co‐link analysis

“…All MDS maps show a clear divide between the anti‐ and provaccination sides and this divide reflects the polarity of the vaccination debate in the society (Brunson & Sobo, ). A content analysis of inlinks to vaccination sites (Ninkov & Vaughan, ) found that pro‐sites tend to link to pro‐sites and anti‐sites link to anti‐sites, which explains why the provaccination sites tend to be co‐linked with pro‐sites and the same applies to antivaccination sites.…”

Nudging toward vaccination: a systematic review

“… 8 9 Vaccine hesitancy (VH), defined as ‘the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite vaccine availability,’ has gained recognition globally as a top threat to global health, as it risks undermining successful and cost-effective vaccination programmes worldwide. 10 Contrary to common portrayal, vaccination attitudes are more nuanced than the duality of provaccination and antivaccination attitudes, 11 and antecedents of VH range from a lack of knowledge and awareness, to culturally rooted misgivings, to concerns regarding vaccines’ short-term or long-term side effects. 4 VH scholars and stakeholders are increasingly acknowledging this spectrum and noting that successful strategies require an appreciation of the VH continuum, ranging from complete acceptance to active refusal.…”

A Social and Behavioral Research Agenda to Facilitate COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in the United States

“…When considering the literature on vaccination decision making, it is clear that values, worldviews, and identities (eg, independence, collectivism)-enduring influencers in vaccine decision making [47][48][49][50] -tend to vary in important ways between regions, states, communities, social networks, and individuals. 51 This complicated, context-dependent bricolage of vaccination decision-making factors precludes a 1-size-fits-all approach. Additionally, vaccine misinformation abounds in social media where users encounter disproportionate negative reports and images, can be moved more by personal stories of adverse effects than scientific facts, and tend to judge disparate ideas about vaccines as equally valid, regardless of the source's expertise.…”