Vaccine Misinformation Spreads as Children Head Back to School
This edition highlights vaccine hesitancy and misinformation around MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccines as children return to school and measles cases resurge in parts of the U.S. We also examine emerging narratives around COVID-19 vaccine misinformation following the FDA approval of COVID-19 boosters and false claims linking mpox to the vaccines. Additionally, a review of recent research explores strategies to combat MMR vaccine hesitancy, and we discuss the growing use of AI in academic papers.
Tennessee is at risk for infectious disease outbreaks. Vaccine misinformation is to blame
The reality is that most Tennesseans understand the importance of vaccination not only in their personal health but also in protecting public health. We recognize that good public health policy is not just about personal choice; it's about safeguarding the health of our families and communities.
And we know that vaccines are one of the most effective tools for preventing the spread of infectious diseases and keeping Tennesseans safe because we have decades of scientific evidence to prove it.
Jason Goolsby, DO, FAAFP - Family physician at Brownsville Family Medicine in Brownsville, Tenn., and 2024 President of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians.
How the anti-vaccine movement pits parental rights against public health.
“There’s a freedom piece on the other side of this argument,” said Caitlin Gilmet, communications director at the vaccine advocacy group SAFE Communities Coalition and Action Fund. “You should have the right to protect your family from preventable diseases.”
In January, Gilmet and other child health advocates offered free fried chicken biscuits at the Tennessee Statehouse, handing out flyers as legislators and aides drifted in to eat. One pamphlet enumerated the toll of a 2018-19 measles outbreak in Washington state that sickened 72 people, most of whom were unvaccinated: $76,000 in medical care, $2.3 million for the public health response and an estimated $1 million in economic losses due to illness, quarantine and caregiving.
Barb Dentz, an advocate with Tennessee Families for Vaccines, repeated that most of the state’s constituents support strong policies in favor of immunizations.
“Protecting kids should be such a no-brainer,” Dentz told Republican Rep. Sam Whitson later that morning in his office. Whitson agreed.
“Dr. Google and Facebook have been such a challenge,” he said. “Fighting ignorance has become a full-time job.”
Story by Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News
I am a foster mom and I see vaccinating the children I parent as an act of love.
It all begins with an idea.Foster families have a responsibility and mission to improve the lives of the children in their care. To bring children into an environment where they are medically unprotected from conditions that can have lifelong repercussions is not responsible or loving.
Tennesseans are better than that. I urge our legislators to uphold the vaccine requirements for prospective foster families, for the sake of all our children.
Erin Floyd is a foster parent who resides in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Staying up-to-date on immunizations will keep Tennessee kids healthy and safe.
"Even if your children aren’t attending school in-person right now, they still need to stay up to date on their immunizations. This will not only help keep our kids and our communities healthy and safe while attending camps, sports and other fun activities during the summer months, but will also set us up for a healthy and safe school year come August.”
Dr. Dorothy Sinard and Dr. Barbara Dentz are twin sisters, pediatricians and child health and safety advocates in Tennessee. The are the founders of Tennessee Families for Vaccines.ea.