Immunization
Universal vaccination programs have been central components of public health programs around the world. In Canada all provinces have instituted public childhood vaccination programs for measles, mumps and rubella, hemophilus influenza B, and diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and polio.
Despite the documented successes of vaccinations some parents have chosen not to vaccinate their children. These parents site several reasons for their decision including lack of confidence in public health authorities, concerns about the lack of benefit of vaccination and concerns about the harms of vaccinations. These arguments have been put forth by parents of children who have been perceived to have had adverse reactions to vaccines as well as select members of alternative medicine provider groups. Pro-vaccination groups believe these concerns are unfounded and that these parental decisions are exposing their children to unnecessary harm. Furthermore, they believe these decisions may undermine herd immunity and potentially put some individuals who are vaccinated at risk.
This emerging debate on the issue of childhood vaccination is an important one, which has ethical, legal and public health consequences. It involves addressing the fine balance between a parent’s right to choose and public health authorities making decisions on behalf of society as a whole. In the linked documents we have included results of our ongoing study of this question. We hope the information from this project can reduce the divide between those who support current vaccination policies and those who argue for more cautious policies or against vaccination altogether. This information should provide valuable to decision-makers formulating policy to address this challenging public health issue.
Immunization Publications YouTube as a source of information on immunization: a content analysis. JAMA Revisiting the possibility of serious adverse events from the whole cell pertussis vaccine. Were metabolically vulnerable children at risk? Medical Hypotheses Could Parents be Held Liable for not Immunizing their Children? McGill Journal of Law and Health
The National Immunization Strategy: a model for resolving jurisdictional disputes in public health. Canadian Journal of Public Health Attitudes towards vaccination among chiropractic and naturopathic students. Vaccine Parental views on pediatric vaccination. The impact of advocacy coalitions. Public Understanding of Science
Preserving the physician’s relationship with anti-vaccine parents: Five suggestions from social psychology. Canadian Family Physician
Protecting vaccine programs and the public. Canadian Medical Association Journal (Guest Editorial) Addressing the emergence of pediatric vaccination concerns. Canadian Journal of Public Health
Guillain-Barré Syndrome following Adult influenza vaccination: A Population-Based Study. Arch Intern Med.
Systematically reviewing qualitative studies complements survey design: An exploratory study of barriers to paediatric immunizations. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Systematic review of qualitative studies exploring parental beliefs and attitudes toward childhood vaccination identifies common barriers to vaccination. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
Vaccines in the Public Eye. Nature Medicine
Barriers to participating in an HIV vaccine trial: A systematic review. AIDS
A Canadian National Survey of Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Preventive Vaccines. Journal of Immune Based Therapies and Vaccines
The association of autistic spectrum disorder and the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine: A systematic review of the current epidemiological evidence. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine