Mandate vaccination with care

Abstract

PUBLIC HEALTH Citizen science is helping to map snakebite risk p.478 ENVIRONMENT A call to safeguard biodiversity in regions of armed conflict p.478 POLITICS How Hindu nationalists have co-opted the trappings of science p.476 BIAS Why do racial stereotypes persist in sport? p.474 Children with measles in an overcrowded hospital ward in the Philippines, where an outbreak occurred in Manila and central Luzon in February 2019.

Asymmetric participation of defenders and critics of vaccines to debates on French-speaking Twitter

“…Nevertheless, in a context where an increasing number of vaccine critics present themselves as "not antivaxxers" and manage to convince both the public and journalists that they are different from traditional antivaccinationists 28,41 , it is doubtful that this approach will prompt a dismissal of their claims by the public. We believe that, even though more research is necessary to discover the best ways to debunk unfounded claims, defenders of vaccines should not wait for the discovery of a magic bullet before addressing these claims on social media -provided they follow simple ethical rules such as treating vaccine critics and hesitant parents with respect 34,35,43 .…”

“…Further investigation should be focused on whether and how these changes have affected the structure of the flow of information on Twitter described in this paper. Because, in some cases, resorting to constraint can backfire by stimulating the constitution of organised anti-vaccine movements or a more general lack of trust in authorities 7,10,[32][33][34][35] , it is crucial to better understand the effect of these measures on public discussions and attitudes to vaccination.…”

The Importance of Vaccinating Children and Pregnant Women against Influenza Virus Infection

“…Some work suggests that mandatory vaccination increases negative feelings and anger regarding vaccines as compared to voluntary vaccination programs [232]. Such feelings could also lead to a stronger aversion to all vaccines [233]. A particularly influential factor that has led to mistrust of vaccine safety has been rooted in the belief that vaccination is associated with children being placed on the autism spectrum [234].…”

Mandatory vaccination for infants and children: the Italian experience

“…In particular, mandatory vaccination for nurseries or school entry (with/-out penalties) is a consolidated strategy (i.e. in the US it has been implemented and tested for decades) but also a source of long-standing controversy, due to unsolved conflicts between those invoking the principle of individual freedom and those prioritizing community protection [2]. For example, there is some evidence that i) mandates may worsen inequities because penalties can disproportionately affect disadvantaged people, ii) strict mandates might induce parents to find ways to avoid the vaccine requirements, iii) there is no evidence of a linear relationship between the forcefulness of a policy and its impact on vaccination rates, iv) the so-called partial (i.e.…”

“…For example, there is some evidence that i) mandates may worsen inequities because penalties can disproportionately affect disadvantaged people, ii) strict mandates might induce parents to find ways to avoid the vaccine requirements, iii) there is no evidence of a linear relationship between the forcefulness of a policy and its impact on vaccination rates, iv) the so-called partial (i.e. selective) mandates, involving only a limited number of the vaccines included in the schedule, might damage broader vaccination programs [2,3]. For all these reasons, mandate opponents suggest that other interventions could be more effective and less intrusive than mandatory vaccination.…”