Get Informed About Vaccines!

A big reason a lot of people don’t get vaccines is because they are misinformed about how vaccines work and their effects.  Wakefield Research did a survey that centered on common myths about the flu, of those interviewed over 80% of adults got at least one question wrong and 28% got every question wrong.  Results of the study also showed that African Americans are the most likely race to not get vaccinated and men are more likely than women to skip vaccination.  Maybe African Americans are less likely to vaccinate themselves because they are less informed or they don’t have the insurance or income to pay for the vaccinations.  More than 20% of parents thought their children would get sick if vaccinated, 13% thought the shot was unnecessary, and 10% didn’t see the flu as a serious health concern.  I believe the first step to getting more people to vaccinate themselves is educating them about the vaccines and the illnesses that they treat.

              Millennials are the least likely generation to be vaccinated, a study found that more than half did not get the flu this season.  Millennials are also the most likely group to fall for misinformation about vaccines.  A survey by The American Academy of Family Physicians found that 61% of millennials agree with at least some of the beliefs of the anti-vaxers, this is way above the national average for adults (52%).  Another 25% of millennials said they did not get their vaccines because they did not have time or forgot.  To me, it is not surprising that millennials are the least vaccinated group.  Millennials are young adults who are either in college or just starting to work real jobs.  This is their first couple of years without their parents doing everything for them, so it makes since that they are too lazy to go get vaccines without their parents forcing them to.  It does surprise me that so many millennials believe anti-vaxers, millennials that are fresh out of college or high school should be educated enough to know that vaccines are a good thing.

              It is extremely important for people to be informed about vaccines because in some cases misinformation can prove deadly.  Two weeks ago, a 4-year-old boy died from complications from the flu after his mother took advice from anti-vaccine Facebook group.  The Facebook group advised the mother to use thyme, vitamins and elderberries to treat her son’s illness instead of the Tamiflu that the doctor had given her.  Even after the child died, the anti-vaxxer group still blamed his death on the hospital, saying they never offered any treatments that would have helped.  The mother said “Our whole family is hurting and it feels like we failed him because we did what we had to do.”  This is a tragic example of how misinformation about vaccines can kill people, everyone should do their part and get vaccinated.