Pity the infants who die because their parents don’t believe in the value of vaccinations

Who is to blame? Vincent Wood, London’s Independent, Friday:

An anti-vaxxer group has asked people to stop calling them anti-vaxxers as the term is “derogatory”. The belief among anti-vaxxers that vaccinations are dangerous has been blamed for contributing to the return of cured illnesses around the world — including Samoa where 62 have been killed in a measles outbreak over the past two months.

AAP, Friday:

Measles infected nearly 10 million people last year and killed 140,000, mostly children, as devastating outbreaks of the viral disease hit every region of the world, the World Health Organisation said ... the deaths were in children under five years old who had not been vaccinated.

Melissa Clarke, the ABC, Friday:

Samoan authorities have charged an alleged anti-vaxxer with incitement against the government as the Pacific nation remains in a national shut down over a measles outbreak ... The Samoan government said an “alleged anti-vaxxer individual” was charged with incitement. Last month, the Samoan cabinet declared a state of emergency which made vaccinations compulsory, while it also made it illegal to discourage people from getting immunised.

Misinformation spreads, Doug Hendrie, newsGP website, December 2:

Samoan, Australian and American anti-vaccination advocates are continuing to spread misinformation, even as measles rages unchecked among a population with one of the world’s lowest rates of protection. ... New Zealand vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said Samoa has a thriving anti-vaccine community.

Motivated interests, Lena H. Sun, Washington Post,  November 15:

The majority of Facebook advertisements spreading misinformation about vaccines were funded by two anti-vaccine groups ... Researchers said the results surprised them. Much of the anti-vaccine content posted on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter may appear to be organic, grassroots discussions led by neighbourhood groups and concerned parents, said David Broniatowski at George Washington University. “In fact,” said Broniatowski, who studies group decision-making, “what we are seeing is a small number of motivated interests that are trying to disseminate a lot of harmful content.”

More peddling, Lucky Tran, The Guardian Australia, November 7:

A popular show is giving anti-vaxxers a high-profile platform to spread lies and cause harm to an audience of millions. This time it’s Bill Maher who last week hosted Jay Gordon, a controversial doctor who peddles misinformation about vaccines and is best known for providing hundreds of personal belief exemptions for families to forgo school vaccine requirements.

Lives saved, Jonathan Kennedy, Quartz website, September 11:

When the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963, the disease killed about 2.6 million people a year. The number of measles cases has steadily declined since then, and it is estimated that the vaccine has saved over 21 million lives.  

Alia Dastagir, USA Today, April 8:

“There are vaccine opponents who hate vaccines — you’re not going to change their minds. They’re in the minority of vaccine critics. They’ve heard all the facts and they don’t care,” said Arthur Caplan from New York University. “Then there are the vaccine-hesitant — they’re fearful but they’re not closed off.”