Vaccine Criticism on the World Wide Web

Abstract

Background The incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases is directly related to the number of unvaccinated children. Parents who refuse vaccination of their children frequently express concerns about vaccine safety. The Internet can influence perceptions about vaccines because it is the fastest growing source of consumer health information. However, few studies have analyzed vaccine criticism on the Web.Objective The purposes of this paper are to examine vaccine criticism on the Internet and to analyze the websites in order to identify common characteristics and ethical allegations.Methods A structured Web search was conducted for the terms “vaccine,” “vaccination,” “vaccinate,” and “anti-vaccination” using a metasearch program that incorporated 8 search engines. This yielded 1138 Web pages representing 750 sites. Two researchers reviewed the sites for inclusion/exclusion criteria, resulting in 78 vaccine-critical sites, which were then abstracted for design, content, and allegations.Results The most common characteristic of vaccine-critical websites was the inclusion of statements linking vaccinations with specific adverse reactions, especially idiopathic chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, autism, and diabetes. Other common attributes (≥ 70% of websites) were links to other vaccine-critical websites; charges that vaccines contain contaminants, mercury, or “hot lots” that cause adverse events; claims that vaccines provide only temporary protection and that the diseases prevented are mild; appeals for responsible parenting through education and resisting the establishment; allegations of conspiracies and cover-ups to hide the truth about vaccine safety; and charges that civil liberties are violated through mandatory vaccination.Conclusions Vaccine-critical websites frequently make serious allegations. With the burgeoning of the Internet as a health information source, an undiscerning or incompletely educated public may accept these claims and refuse vaccination of their children. As this occurs, the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases can be expected to rise.

Vaccine hesitancy

“…58 In addition to traditional media, the Internet has offered an opportunity for vocal anti-vaccination activists to diffuse their message. [60][61][62][63][64][65] Many consider that the omnipresence of anti-vaccination content on the World Wide Web has contributed to a broader and faster dissemination of rumours, myths and "inaccurate" beliefs regarding vaccines that have had a negative impact on vaccine uptake. 50,61,66 Indeed, even if health professionals are still frequently consulted by the majority of individuals with health concerns, the Internet has become an essential source of information.…”

“…[60][61][62][63][64][65] Many consider that the omnipresence of anti-vaccination content on the World Wide Web has contributed to a broader and faster dissemination of rumours, myths and "inaccurate" beliefs regarding vaccines that have had a negative impact on vaccine uptake. 50,61,66 Indeed, even if health professionals are still frequently consulted by the majority of individuals with health concerns, the Internet has become an essential source of information. 66,67 In addition, with Web 2.0 functions which allow users to create and share content using social networks (such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or Wikipedia), individuals can share their personal experiences of vaccination.…”

“…66 Indeed, studies reviewing the content of websites or social networks concerning vaccination have shown that information is of variable quality and that inexact or negative content is predominant. 61,62,64 For example, in a study simulating a patient's search for advice on the potential link between MMR and autism using the Google search engine, Scullard and collaborators have reported that only 51% of the websites provided the correct information about the fact that no association has ever been demonstrated between MMR vaccination and autism.…”

A profile of anti-vaccination lobbying on the South African internet, 2011 - 2013

“…[2,6] In addition, the South African Vaccination and Immunisation Centre (SAVIC) at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University has received many requests from concerned parents to explain the validity of anti-vaccination claims found on the internet. These claims originated mainly from the USA, and previous global studies on internet-based anti-vaccination lobbying [7][8][9][10][11][12] had not identified any anti-vaccination web pages originating in SA. This seemed to suggest that while some SA parents are concerned about vaccination, this concern had not resulted in the creation of websites for local anti-vaccination lobbying.…”

Historical Perspectives on the Antaean Animadversion of Vaccine Science in the 21st Century

“…Information on the internet can be inaccurate and part of the anti-vaccine movement includes material even written by nescient physicians and non-physician healthcare professionals [49]. Also, complicating this issue is that some physicians are not knowledgeable about au courant vaccine recommendations that often change and offer limited effective rebuttal to anti-vaccine information [50]. Healthcare workers may refuse vaccinations for them and may be susceptible to the complex, minacious, mesmerizing anti-vaccine sentiment that has been present since the science of immunizations began [51][52][53][54][55][56][57].…”