Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin, drawing attention to the dangers of vaccine hesitancy against children on public health, stated that if people stop getting vaccinated, there will be a risk of infectious diseases rapidly spreading again.
Emphasizing that vaccine hesitancy directly and negatively affects the success and effectiveness of immunization programs, Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin said, “It is known that vaccine hesitancy reduces the demand for vaccines. This situation leads to a narrowing of vaccination coverage, making it difficult to control epidemics, and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases.”
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin from Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine (English) Department of Medical Biochemistry drew attention to the dangers of vaccine hesitancy against children on public health.
Individuals have the right to live a life free from vaccine-preventable diseases
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin stated that vaccines are the safest and most effective way to prevent infectious diseases, saying, "Individuals and our societies as a whole have the right to live a life free from vaccine-preventable diseases."
Despite a successful global vaccination history, many political parties and religious groups have joined the anti-vaccine movement, questioning the scientific reliability of vaccines, said Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin. “Anti-vaccine narratives often spread online and offline through social media. The internet generates stories based on conspiracy theories. Vaccine information on social media may not be based on scientific evidence. Vaccine and health information should always be obtained from reliable sources such as the Ministry of Health's Vaccine Portal (https://asi.saglik.gov.tr/asi/) or the World Health Organization (WHO).”
Getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated!
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin explained that all available evidence indicates that getting vaccinated is safer than not getting vaccinated. “Vaccines help protect you and your child from many serious and potentially fatal diseases, protect others in your family and community, help stop the spread of diseases to those who cannot be vaccinated, such as babies too young to be vaccinated and those too ill to receive vaccines, and reduce or even eliminate some diseases if enough people are vaccinated.”
Vaccines do not cause autism!
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin noted that vaccines do not weaken the immune system. “It is safe to give several vaccines to children and adults at the same time, which reduces the number of injections required, they do not contain mercury (thimerosal), do not contain any harmful components, contain the necessary components to make them safer and more effective, do not cause autism, and studies have found no evidence of a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism.”
Vaccine hesitancy is one of the biggest threats to global health!
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin stated that if people stop getting vaccinated, infectious diseases could rapidly spread again. “The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed vaccine hesitancy as one of the biggest threats to global health. Despite the MMR vaccine being the best protection against measles and mumps, they are starting to reappear worldwide. This is a serious situation because measles can lead to life-threatening complications such as meningitis, and mumps can cause hearing loss. If 95% of children receive the MMR vaccine, this completely stops the spread of measles. However, if less than 90% of people are vaccinated, measles, mumps, and rubella can rapidly spread again.”
How are anti-vaccine movements gaining power in the world?
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin noted that despite vaccines being one of the most successful public health interventions of all time, some parents continue to worry about vaccine safety, and continued:
“Providing parents with reliable, evidence-based information about vaccines is a critical component of vaccine risk communication. Vaccine hesitancy significantly contributes to declining vaccination rates, posing a serious public health problem that makes it difficult to control infectious diseases and prevent pandemics. Groups opposing vaccine requirements pose a serious threat by causing childhood vaccination rates to drop at the national level and the re-emergence of preventable fatal diseases. Anti-vaccine policies have become the main narrative of these groups, gaining strength in parallel with pandemic restrictions and the spread of misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.”
Childhood vaccination rates continue to fall
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin explained that the "Medical Freedom" movement, which advocates that "everyone should have the right to make their own health decisions," is gaining strength, and childhood vaccination rates continue to fall. “In the US, the proportion of kindergarten students not vaccinated by their parents reached a new peak of 3 percent in the 2022-2023 school year. This situation seriously concerns public health experts. Increased vaccine hesitancy led to measles outbreaks last year in communities with low vaccination rates. The percentage of Americans who believe vaccines are safe has fallen six points since 2021 to 71 percent. According to a survey published by the University of Pennsylvania in November, the number of people who believe scientifically refuted claims that vaccines cause autism and contain toxins is also increasing.”
What are the reasons for vaccine hesitancy?
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin stated that unsubstantiated claims are "deliberately spreading health misinformation" and listed the most prominent factors related to vaccine hesitancy as: “Health and socioeconomic inequalities and injustices, lack of effective public health messages, unethical research involving ethnic minority groups and structural racism, social disadvantages, meaning lower educational levels and lack of access to high-quality, accurate information, the increasing spread of misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and rumors through online platforms, as well as socioeconomic inequalities and barriers to accessibility such as vaccine delivery time, location, and cost.”
Vaccine hesitancy negatively affects the success of immunization programs
Prof. Dr. Nilgün Tekkeşin also emphasized that vaccine hesitancy directly and negatively affects the success and effectiveness of immunization programs. “It is known that vaccine hesitancy reduces the demand for vaccines. This situation leads to a narrowing of vaccination coverage, making it difficult to control epidemics, and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases. Vaccine hesitancy poses a danger to individuals and their dependents, as well as to the entire community. It is possible to imagine where we would be as a world if these narratives were applied, especially to polio or measles. For this reason, polio cases in Nigeria increased fivefold between 2002 and 2006," she concluded.