The Truth About Vaccines: Myths and Misinformation
In an age of growing vaccine hesitancy, we discuss some of the current disease outbreaks and debunk common misconceptions that contribute to vaccine skepticism.
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic saw an unprecedented increase in medical skepticism, with initial confusion and uncertainty eventually giving rise to distrust or even outright denial about the efficacy of scientific advances to combat the spread of disease. One of the most controversial developments to emerge from the pandemic was the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine–specifically, the use of a novel, but safe, mRNA platform for delivery of genetic material encoding a small piece of viral protein. The fast-paced nature of the pandemic, both in terms of understanding the virus and attempting to overcome it, led to the questioning of vaccine mandates and the emergence of misinformation about the vaccine, all of which disregarded peer-reviewed scientific data.
Today, five years since the start of the pandemic, vaccines remain controversial, with misinformation about vaccine development and potential side effects leading to increased vaccine hesitancy and pushback on vaccine mandates. This skepticism has only been exacerbated by social media platforms, which have allowed for rapid dissemination of conspiracy theories and misleading headlines. These attitudes are not harmless, either–we are directly seeing the result of anti-vaccine sentiment through the rise in childhood measles cases in unvaccinated communities. Not only that, but additional threats to defund schools that have vaccine mandates and halt research on infectious diseases pose a great risk to the state of both national and global health. In this piece, we will discuss current infectious disease outbreaks and break down some of the vaccine myths that currently abound on news and social media platforms.
(Out)breaking News
Measles in the Southwest
Texas and New Mexico are the site of a rapidly growing outbreak of measles, largely in undervaccinated school-aged children. This outbreak began in late January and, in just a month and a half, it has infected close to 300 people and killed two, marking the first U.S. measles fatalities in a decade. While measles is thought to be one of the most contagious diseases, it was considered eliminated in 2000 due to the highly effective MMR vaccine. However, vaccine hesitancy in Gaines County–where the outbreak is centered–has resulted in nearly 14% of school-aged children missing at least one required vaccine dose last year. Despite the rapid spread, the current administration has downplayed the outbreak’s severity for weeks, claiming that measles outbreaks occur every year. RFK Jr., now appointed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, only backtracked and called for an end to the outbreak after a child’s death, stating that the Department would send 2000 doses of the MMR vaccine to Texas to fight the outbreak. However, the effectiveness of these extra vaccines in a significantly undervaccinated community remains to be seen. Allowing this outbreak to progress to this level brings forth concerns about nationwide spread, as recent measles cases in New York City and Miami raise the possibility of large-scale outbreaks.
Avian flu
As cases of H5N1 influenza continue to crop up in dairy herds and bird flocks nationwide, the number of human cases is steadily increasing. The human infection count is currently at 70 with one death in Louisiana occurring this past January. There has not been any sign of human-to-human transmission yet, meaning that H5N1 poses a low risk to the general population. That being said, recent developments have shown avian influenza infection in cats originating from contaminated raw food, prompting cat food recalls and advisories against feeding raw food to pets. In addition, feline infections have also sparked concerns about whether infection in household pets may lead to easier spread into humans. The CDC has reported that human-to-cat transmission of H5N1 is possible, but the threat of human transmission from cats infected from contaminated food is not fully understood. However, with current funding cuts and restrictions on communication, updates on transmission or infectivity may not be communicated quickly enough.
New bat coronavirus identified
A group from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China recently discovered a new bat coronavirus. This virus was identified through viral surveillance, swabbing an animal that is known to carry numerous viruses–bats. This new coronavirus is more closely related to the family of viruses that MERS comes from (merbecovirus), but it uses the same human receptor that the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, a sarbecovirus, used. The study found that it uses this human receptor, known as ACE2, in a slightly different way, shedding light on how different viruses have adapted to entering cells. It is important to note that this discovery does not foreshadow a repeat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has not been found in humans and does not enter human cells as effectively as the COVID-19 virus, meaning it is not a cause for concern. Viral surveillance simply allows us to be aware of any viruses circulating in animals and prepare researchers to spring into action if such a virus were to jump into a new species. The recent threats to the U.S. viral surveillance training program, the Epidemic Intelligence Service, and the withdrawal of the U.S. from the WHO communicates a disregard for the importance of viral surveillance and preparedness, which could spell disaster if emerging global diseases begin infecting Americans.
Mystery illness in the DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo is dealing with an outbreak that has infected over 1000 people and killed at least 60. The symptoms range from fever and chills to vomiting and nosebleeds, but those who pass away from the illness do so in a mere 48 hours after becoming symptomatic, prompting a rapid response by the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak was initially traced back to three children who ate a bat carcass and fell ill, causing public health officials to first suspect an outbreak of Ebola. However, preliminary testing for Ebola virus and the related Marburg virus have come up negative. Additional testing is being done, and the WHO currently suspects possible food or water contamination, meningitis, or malaria complications. Countries within the WHO have access to new developments before they are made public, but having begun the process of withdrawing from the WHO, the U.S. risks loss of timely global health updates, severely limiting preparation for possible global health emergencies.
As outbreaks continue to crop up around the world, global health responses will continue to be challenged. Restrictions on scientific funding in the U.S. will have a devastating impact on vaccine research, preventing the development of life-saving treatments and preventative measures. Evidently, though, it is not enough to produce and distribute vaccines, as preventable diseases are resurfacing due to recent vaccine hesitancy. In the face of ever-emerging infectious diseases, the politicization of medicine and the constant circulation of misinformation promises an increasingly concerning future for the state of public health. But what are the false claims being propagated, and how are they leading to vaccine hesitancy?
Myths, Scientific Fraud, and Vaccine Hesitancy
While vaccine hesitancy may seem particularly heightened now, skepticism dates back to as early as the first vaccine ever made. This begs the question: what is driving this heightened politicization? Claims of government conspiracies and hidden side effects of vaccines are gaining traction through the news and social media, while elected officials or public figures–usually with no prior scientific or medical training–perpetuate harmful myths that promote hesitancy and distrust in vaccines. These individuals often use medical skepticism as a means to benefit themselves, preying on the public’s lack of awareness about medical research to bolster their own organizations and increase their salaries, for example. This manipulation and fear-mongering only serves to steer people away from life-saving vaccines that have continued to keep some of the most contagious diseases at bay. Having recently discussed the history of vaccines, let’s break down some of the most common misconceptions and conspiracy theories that contribute to vaccine skepticism.
If we’ve eliminated certain diseases, why do we need to keep getting vaccinated against them?
In the United States, part of a child’s routine vaccinations includes diphtheria, measles, mumps, and rubella, diseases which are currently uncommon. Recently amplified anti-vaccine sentiments have attempted to challenge the need for routine childhood vaccines, manipulating parents whose main priority is the health and safety of their children.
Several factors are at play in understanding the importance for continued early childhood vaccination. First, some of the diseases targeted by these vaccines, including pneumococcal infection, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and measles can cause severe illness and possible death due to complications in newborns and infants, who are particularly susceptible to these diseases. Additionally, these diseases are extremely contagious–one individual infected with measles can go on to infect nine out of ten unvaccinated close contacts. Importantly, there is no cure for measles, and the rapid spread of this virus can have life-altering or lethal effects such as severe pneumonia, complications during pregnancy, or encephalitis. Fortunately, vaccination with two doses of the MMR vaccine has been proven to be 97% effective in preventing contraction of this disease.
As expected, lack of vaccination can lead to major public health problems, particularly in communities that encourage withholding vaccination of their children. While these diseases are rare in the U.S., they still exist all over the world and can be easily brought to communities that do not practice vaccination, spreading rapidly and causing outbreaks. To understand why continued vaccination is necessary, we must look to an epidemiology concept called herd/population immunity, whereby a population is resistant to a disease as long as preventative measures–including vaccination–are in place. As Your Local Epidemiologist puts it, vaccines are like a “water dam built to prevent flooding. Once it’s built, we won’t have flooding anymore. But if the next generation comes along and says, “Hey, there’s not flooding anymore—do we really need this dam?” and decides to get rid of it, the flooding would return quickly.” Because routine vaccination protects us from contracting a wide variety of preventable diseases, it can be easy to think we no longer need vaccines. It’s when we buy into this complacency and attempt to undermine these protections, however, that we create the possibility of dangerous outbreaks in our communities.
Vaccines and Autism
A large contributing belief to modern vaccine hesitancy is the myth that vaccines can lead to the development of autism in children, a belief that emerged in the late 1990s following the publication of what would later be found to be a fraudulent research paper. This paper argued that bowel abnormalities reportedly caused by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine were giving rise to developmental disorders in children–a claim that was unsubstantiated due to both a poorly controlled study and small sample size. Not only was the study designed improperly, but a study published by the same group later that year, along with numerous others, directly contradicted their claims. Following years of scientific misconduct investigations, the paper falsely arguing the link between the MMR vaccine and autism in children was retracted, or denounced by the scientific community. These investigations found that the scientist responsible for this study, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, had falsified data and cherry picked results that suited his claim–directly violating multiple ethical principles. Additionally, he was found to have ignored ethical limitations in place for running scientific tests on children. The motive for these violations ultimately turned out to be financial gain; Wakefield’s research was funded by lawyers involved in lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.
Despite the paper’s retraction and the unethical basis underlying Wakefield’s research, these claims continue to be perpetuated, with spikes in measles, mumps, and rubella cases occurring across the world, including England, Wales, and the United States. Additionally, the current political climate in the United States has challenged the place of routine childhood vaccines, pointing to an increase in childhood autism diagnoses as a reason for questioning vaccines. However, correlation does not equal causation–in this case, expanded autism diagnosis criteria and a better understanding of autism presentation in children have been shown to underlie increases in diagnoses. Let’s be clear: using the motive of “keeping children healthy” as a means of undermining decades of creditable scientific studies is just as unethical as Wakefield’s falsified study.
Origins of epidemics and vaccine stockpiles
During his presidential campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. repeatedly argued that the stockpiling of bird flu vaccine doses implied an intentionally planned release of an infectious human pathogen. Other proponents of the planned release conspiracy theory, such as radio show host Alex Jones, also cite the existence of avian influenza vaccines as support for this theory. On his talk show, Infowars, Jones claims that, “you’ve got all the telltale signs, if not telltale signs, it’s absolute fact that there’s no way they magically already have the vaccine of this exact strain that magically just popped up a few months ago and that they magically started producing it months and months ago.”
In reality, we have known about this strain of influenza–H5N1, or avian influenza–for decades. The virus was first identified in 1996, going on to cause outbreaks in poultry in the early 2000s. As we discussed in our earlier piece, The Flying Flu, viruses are prone to mutation of their genetic material due to rapid replication of their genomes. These mutations allow for increased adaptations that grant the virus the ability to infect different species. From studying similar types of flu viruses, we know what mutations would be a cause for concern, and decades of work has helped reveal how these viruses replicate and transmit between individuals. The influenza pandemic in 1918, an H1N1 virus containing genes of avian flu origin, claimed the lives of at least 50 million individuals worldwide. Because of influenza’s ability to spread quickly and its high mutation rate, scientists have long predicted that another pandemic flu will eventually emerge. This is why, when the most recent H5N1 outbreaks began occurring in poultry and cows, all eyes turned to avian flu. Because of the vast diversity of scientific research, work has already been done to develop vaccines against various strains of H5N1. The scientific community has been aware of this virus’s circulation in animals since its identification almost 30 years ago, and vaccine stockpiles for several diseases have been established for decades. This argument ignores decades of research and surveillance in favor of promoting a baseless conspiracy theory, which is especially concerning coming from a figure who is now in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Censorship and discrediting of professionals
Recent medical skepticism in the U.S. also manifests as a hesitation or unwillingness to believe medical or scientific professionals who have spent countless years training for their professions. In addition to this hesitation, the last month has ushered in a wave of shocking censorship across science and medicine. From blocking communication of key scientific developments to removing web pages containing medical information and even firing researchers working to keep the public safe, access to reliable and accurate information is becoming more restrictive. The purpose of these large databases and medical guidelines is to keep the public informed about diseases. By removing reliable information and restricting communication from professionals, misinformation runs rampant. Additionally, this censorship will dramatically slow the progress of research and medicine. During the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific and medical community maintained close communication, providing each other with the most up-to-date information in order to combat a quickly progressing outbreak. Prohibiting scientists from giving research talks, stalling or retracting published scientific papers, and eliminating public web pages and databases will significantly disrupt the progress towards disease treatment and prevention.
To compound the lack of available scientific updates, researchers and medical professionals who come forward with new information are being falsely discredited and ignored. During this current avian influenza outbreak, epidemiologists, doctors, and scientists who have been keeping a close eye on the virus’s spread have been labeled as fear mongers. Not only that, but their guidelines for stopping consumption of raw milk have been disregarded–despite the fact that numerous research papers clearly show transmission of live avian flu through unpasteurized milk. The raw milk movement has gained significant traction due to social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where creators claim that raw milk does not go bad and is easier to digest–without addressing the threat of severe illness. Though the FDA and CDC have consistently communicated the significant risk of food-borne illness, these authorities are disregarded by influencers determined to mislead their audiences for their own benefit.
By disregarding trained professionals backed by decades of data, accurate medical information is blatantly ignored and harmful behavior is encouraged. Compounding this with the increased censorship of medical and scientific communication, the safety of human health is significantly at risk. We have slowed–or in some cases, completely eradicated–the spread of numerous transmissible diseases because of adequate dissemination of medical guidelines. It is imperative to continue developing and communicating new developments in disease prevention in order to keep protecting public health.
The Take-Away Message
Despite the efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, public opinion of vaccines has started to turn in a concerning direction. What was once an accepted form of disease prevention has now become a political topic of contention. To find proof that vaccines are effective in preventing outbreaks, one need look no further than the current measles outbreak in Texas. It is absolutely unacceptable that lives must be lost before the new administration takes infectious disease more seriously. These developments paint an increasingly dismal picture of the future state of public health. Pathogens are constantly evolving, and if we cease prioritizing infectious disease research, we run the risk of becoming overwhelmed by these pathogens.
With the turn against vaccines within the government, we must continue to seek out the truth and motivation behind certain claims. Public figures have openly spoken out against vaccines, such as RFK Jr., who, in 2019, exploited fears of an improperly manufactured batch of MMR vaccines in Samoa to further his anti-vaccine propositions. His actions and influence resulted in a suspension of vaccination and an outbreak of measles that killed 83 people. Any current attempts to walk back on anti-vaccine claims as a top U.S. health official do not detract from the disease outbreaks and deaths caused by his openness against vaccination, beliefs which are grounded in conspiracy and manipulation.
Current attacks on science should–and are–raising alarms throughout the scientific community. The increasing censorship of trained scientists, disregard for research-based medical guidelines, and threats to restrict vaccination must stop before diseases spread to an unmanageable level. In light of unfolding outbreaks and the declining state of U.S. public health, it is imperative to be wary of claims against life-saving medical practices. The best way you can navigate misinformation is to question the source and motive. Scientifically-sound websites such as the CDC or NIH, or international agencies such as the World Health Organization, provide more accurate information on disease outbreaks or effective prevention methods, and news pieces on new research developments should cite scientific papers from peer-reviewed journals. For medical advice, trust the guidance of a trained doctor over the claims of a public figure or influencer. Additionally, standing with scientists and medical professionals against censorship and funding cuts is a powerful way to support those working to fight against disease, which can be done by calling your representatives or participating in marches. Fighting against misinformation and attempts to halt life-saving science is the first step to protecting your health, your community’s health, and global health–and scientists need your help now more than ever.