anti-vaccination movement

Solid research has found the vaccines authorized for use against COVID-19 to be safe and effective. But some anti-vaccine activists are mischaracterizing government data to imply the jabs are dangerous.

Anti-Vaccine Activists Use A Federal Database To Spread Fear About COVID Vaccines

12:57pm June 14, 2021

by Geoff Brumfiel

The system is designed to provide early warning of what might or might not be actual side effects. But anti-vaccine groups are bending the data to their own ends.

After widespread pressure to repudiate anti-vaccine misinformation on the social media platform, Facebook announced on Thursday it's taking several steps to tackle the issue.

Health & Safety

Facebook Vows To Quash Anti-Vaccine Misinformation

8:32pm March 07, 2019

The company said ads and other content containing false information about vaccines will be pulled from the platform and accounts that persist in disseminating discredited opinions will be disabled.

Hesitancy about vaccination in a community has a lot to do with acculturation to its norms.

Health & Safety

Medical Anthropologist Explores 'Vaccine Hesitancy'

8:21pm February 13, 2019

by Mara Gordon

Families learn to be skeptical about vaccines in communities where incomplete vaccination is the norm. A researcher into the phenomenon found that people are ready to listen, if they're heard, too.

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Amber Gorrow and her daughter, Eleanor, 3, pick out a show to watch after Eleanor's nap at their home in Vancouver, Wash., on Wednesday. Eleanor has gotten her first measles vaccine, but Gorrow's son, Leon, 8 weeks, is still too young to be immunized.

Health & Safety

Measles Cases Mount In Pacific Northwest Outbreak

3:34pm February 08, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

So far this year, 55 measles cases have been confirmed in Washington state, most of them in unvaccinated children. The outbreak's epicenter is Clark County, Wash., just north of Portland, Ore.

A measles outbreak in Washington State has triggered a state of emergency. In Clark County, where 35 cases have been reported, 31 were not immunized.

Health & Safety

Washington State Officials Declare State Of Emergency As Measles Outbreak Continues

9:36pm January 28, 2019

As of Monday, public health authorities reported 36 cases, most affecting children under the age of 10. All but four of those with the highly contagious disease have not been vaccinated.

Liliana Czegledi holds a photo of her daughter, Ioana, at her home in the village of Sînandrei in western Romania. Ioana was just shy of her 10th birthday when she died of complications from measles. She could not be vaccinated because she had a compromi

Health & Safety

The Story Behind The Worst Measles Outbreak In The European Union

4:59pm November 24, 2018

Europe is experiencing a record outbreak of measles, a disease that has been vaccine-preventable since 1963. And in the EU, Romania is ground zero.

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Abraham Vidaurre, 12, checks his arm after receiving an HPV shot in Corpus Christi, Texas. The vaccine is recommended for 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls.

Parents Feel Better About HPV Shots For Preteens If They Can Opt Out

1:25pm August 19, 2016

by Tara Haelle

The HPV vaccine prevents cancer, but in a survey most parents said they don't want it to be required for school. They're much happier with a mandate if they're given an opportunity to opt out.

Childhood Vaccination Rates Climb In California

3:35pm January 21, 2016

by Lisa Aliferis

State health officials suspect California's big measles outbreak last year helped persuade parents to get their kids immunized against other illnesses, too.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott looks during a news conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, last month. Abbott announced Sunday that his government would close a loophole to discourage families from refusing childhood vaccinations.

Australia To Stop Payments To Families Who Refuse Child Vaccinations

1:25pm April 14, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says that starting in 2016, welfare payments and child care rebates will be cut off to families that take a "conscientious objector" exemption to avoid immunizations.