1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vog Obam. Here nobody likes to 3 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: be sick, but it seems there are plenty of people 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 1: who are willing to take a chance on a disease 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:18,920 Speaker 1: like COVID nineteen instead of getting a vaccine for it. 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: Why is that and is this a new phenomenon? First, 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: we have to understand the difference between vaccine hesitancy and 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:32,320 Speaker 1: anti vaccine activism, which is also called vaccine resistance. For 9 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:34,800 Speaker 1: the article this episode is based on How Stuff Works, 10 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: spoke with Noel Brewer, PhD, a professor of health behavior 11 00:00:38,400 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 1: at the University of North Carolina. He said vaccine hesitancy 12 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:47,840 Speaker 1: and anti vaccine activism are distinct and largely unrelated. Only 13 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: around two percent of Americans will never get a vaccine, 14 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 1: and among these hard refusers, only a handful attempt to 15 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,480 Speaker 1: recruit others to their views. By comparison, he says most 16 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:02,720 Speaker 1: people have at least some questions about vaccines, which is 17 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: not a bad thing. Quote. Vaccine hesitancy is normal and 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: healthy and should be encouraged. It's good to have questions, 19 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: ask them and get high quality, trustworthy answers. The vocal 20 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,480 Speaker 1: anti vaccination movement is fairly recent and was really kicked 21 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: into gear by a now discredited paper that appeared in 22 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: the medical journal land Set, which falsely linked vaccines with autism. However, 23 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: vaccine hesitancy is as old as vaccines themselves. How Stuff 24 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: Works also spoke with Dr Katherine Edwards, the author of 25 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: an American Academy of Pediatrics clinical report called Countering Vaccine Hesitancy. 26 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: She said this has been going on for centuries and 27 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,360 Speaker 1: pointed to a cartoon published back in eighteen o two 28 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 1: that depicts people growing cow like parts. This was in 29 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: response to Edward Jenner pioneering the smallpox vaccine by using 30 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: material from Alpas. A medical historian by the name of 31 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,560 Speaker 1: Elena Konis wrote in a article in The American Historian 32 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: that the first small pax vaccine quote was met with 33 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: enthusiasm but also dread. While many patients and physicians were 34 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:18,800 Speaker 1: eager to fend off one of that era's most feared diseases, 35 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,440 Speaker 1: many others balked at the prospect of contaminating their healthy 36 00:02:22,440 --> 00:02:27,239 Speaker 1: bodies with disease matter from an animal. And then, when 37 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,640 Speaker 1: European countries began making small pax vaccines, mandatory in the 38 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 1: early eighteen hundreds, She wrote that quote, societies of anti 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,400 Speaker 1: vaccinationists formed to protest what they saw as unequal treatment 40 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:43,520 Speaker 1: and undue infringement of individual liberty, but they didn't get 41 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: much traction. There was also little protest against the polio vaccine, 42 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: which was released in nineteen fifty four to wild enthusiasm 43 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: in America. According to konis And, she wrote, parents so 44 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,080 Speaker 1: dreaded polio that they were quick to seek the vaccine 45 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,279 Speaker 1: for their children, and course of politics never became necessary. 46 00:03:02,800 --> 00:03:05,720 Speaker 1: But as the decades went on, American parents were not 47 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: so excited about vaccinations for measles, mumps, and other diseases. 48 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,120 Speaker 1: She noted, perhaps because people were used to living with 49 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: these diseases. Health officials often had to make vaccinations mandatory 50 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:23,480 Speaker 1: for school registration. In order to get compliance. In a 51 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: TV documentary called DPT Vaccine Roulette aired, featuring profiles of 52 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: children whose mothers believed they were harmed by the vaccine 53 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: for diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus. One of the first 54 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: media pieces critical of vaccines then that now disproven Lancet 55 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: article was published, sparking the anti vaxer movement. Fast forward, 56 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: one and the new vaccination against COVID nineteen. One third 57 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: of American adults are skeptical of getting it, according to 58 00:03:55,640 --> 00:03:58,600 Speaker 1: the Associated Press, which is a pretty big problem for 59 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 1: those trying to slow or stop up the pandemic. So 60 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: why the hesitation, As we said, vaccine hesitancy is normal, 61 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: even healthy. The reasons that it happens are threefold, according 62 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: to Edwards. First, people may think that the disease isn't 63 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: that bad and therefore that it doesn't need to be prevented. 64 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,719 Speaker 1: Edwards said, well, one of the issues that makes vaccine 65 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 1: hesitancy more common prior to COVID is that many of 66 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: the infectious diseases that parents dreaded for their children have 67 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:33,120 Speaker 1: been eliminated. And it's true severe chicken pox, mumps, and 68 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: other once devastating illnesses are far rarer than they used 69 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: to be thanks to vaccines. In terms of COVID, fear 70 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: levels tend to run a wide range, with some people 71 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,400 Speaker 1: petrified of the virus and others totally unconcerned. Edwards explained, 72 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: many people who don't want to get the vaccine are 73 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,480 Speaker 1: less afraid of getting COVID than those who do get 74 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: the vaccine. Of particular, influence to this aspect of vaccine 75 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: hesitancy is the media. So as Edwards a quote, some 76 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: is very science based, others are not. An Internet site 77 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:07,880 Speaker 1: doesn't come with their rating of whether it's based on 78 00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:12,280 Speaker 1: fact or not. Secondly, people are worried about the safety 79 00:05:12,320 --> 00:05:14,560 Speaker 1: of the vaccine, and this is a big one for 80 00:05:14,600 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: the COVID nineteen vaccine in particular, because it was developed 81 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: so quickly, a lot of people think that it can't 82 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: possibly be safe enough to use. In reality, scientists have 83 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: been dealing with other coronaviruses like stars and mers for decades, 84 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,080 Speaker 1: which gave them a head start in the vaccine department. Thirdly, 85 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,279 Speaker 1: especially in American society, individualism is a big factor. Most 86 00:05:38,320 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: people don't like to be told what to do, even 87 00:05:40,760 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: if it is in their best interests. Edwards said that 88 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,480 Speaker 1: the line of thinking is, I quote, decide for myself 89 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:48,960 Speaker 1: if I get vaccinated, whether I wear masks, if I 90 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,839 Speaker 1: go out or quarantine. It's the sense of wanting to 91 00:05:51,880 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: be an individual and having individual rights. Vaccination rates in 92 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: general are still high in the United States, with n 93 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: p five percent of children aged nineteen thirty five months 94 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:09,160 Speaker 1: fully vaccinated against measles. Moms and rubula. As of this 95 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: is an all time high and the lowest rate between 96 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,400 Speaker 1: then In ninetour when the study that these numbers are 97 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,599 Speaker 1: from began, tracking rates occurred, not so coincidentally, in when 98 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,839 Speaker 1: the fraudulent Vaccine and Autism study was released. Vaccination rates 99 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:29,680 Speaker 1: were just eighty six percent that year. Still, there's not 100 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: likely to be a magic cure to eliminate vaccine hesitancy 101 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 1: anytime soon, Brewer said, we don't have much evidence that 102 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: interventions to decrease hesitancy can increase vaccine uptake. Such interventions 103 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:47,159 Speaker 1: have been unreliably effective. That said, the best way to 104 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: address hesitancy is to have a person talk with their 105 00:06:49,960 --> 00:06:54,000 Speaker 1: healthcare provider. A provider recommendation is a single best motivator 106 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: of vaccination. So let's say a friend mentions that they're 107 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 1: scared to get a certain vaccine, whether for themselves or 108 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:04,919 Speaker 1: for a child. The worst thing you can do is 109 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: tell them they're stupid or unilaterally discredit their concerns. Instead, 110 00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:12,960 Speaker 1: find out why they're concerned. Is it due to possible 111 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:17,160 Speaker 1: side effects, fears about big pharma, potential long term problems. 112 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: Validate those fears by listening and taking them seriously. Then 113 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,400 Speaker 1: suggest that they visit some reputable sites with you or 114 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:28,360 Speaker 1: on their own to get credible answers to their questions. 115 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,320 Speaker 1: A few that Edwards suggests are the CDC, the a 116 00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: a P, which is the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 117 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:40,239 Speaker 1: the National Institutes of Health vaccine information portals. She said, 118 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: there's a wealth of information to look at that can 119 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: answer questions, as long as it's a source that's linked 120 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: to science. We would add that the American Academy of 121 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: Family Physicians website also has an extensive explanation of COVID 122 00:07:53,520 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 1: nineteen vaccine myths and facts. Finally, as Brewer says, suggest 123 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: a frank conversation with their doctor to find out why 124 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: the vaccine is recommended, if there are any risks, and 125 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: what the side effects might be. Most of the time, 126 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,679 Speaker 1: a simple conversation with a knowledgeable person will allay fears. 127 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: Edwards said, Certainly, I want my patients to understand what 128 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: they're receiving and how it works. I also want them 129 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,040 Speaker 1: to know that they may experience side effects, but I 130 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:28,280 Speaker 1: can tell them about Today's episode is based on the 131 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: article vaccine hesitancy is Nothing New on how stuff works 132 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: dot Com, written by Leo Howit. Brain stuff It's production 133 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: of by heart Radio in partnership with house to Works 134 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,520 Speaker 1: dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more 135 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, 136 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.