Vaccines have come way too far and have saved way too many lives for us not do everything we can to educate and overcome vaccine hesitancy in vulnerable communities. And we need to do so quickly!
Just the measles/rubella vaccine alone has saved over 93.7 million lives between 1974-2004 (Shattock et al, 2024). Since the MMR vaccine was introduced in 1971, it has been exhaustively studied and has been shown to be incredibly safe.
Yet data from 2015 indicates global immunization coverage has recently stagnated. According to Emily Smith, an epidemiologist and infectious disease researcher at George Washington University, “in previous outbreaks, we’ve seen an important, hopeful public health response encouraging families to get vaccinated, and we’re seeing a lot less of that in this particular case.” JB Cantey, a University of Texas associate professor of pediatrics, warned that measles is “the canary in the coal mine for other vaccine-preventable diseases that are going to start to rear their ugly heads in the next few months, next few years, if our vaccine rates continue to drop,” Cantey said.
According to DISA (Disinformation of Social Media Alliance), a deeper exploration of social media posts reveals that vaccine hesitancy is not simply a matter of belief, but a reflection of lived experiences, systemic inequalities, and a profound erosion of trust in institutions. DISA has analyzed over 50 million social media posts (particularly around covid) and discovered a complex array of factors influencing vaccine hesitancy. The one factor that stood out for them was – mistrust of institutions. Decline to vaccinate has to do with a distrust in public health institutions, and this may worsen under the current administration.
New Mexico continues to experience an increase in measles cases due to a higher population of people unvaccinated against the disease, according to KOAT UNM Health Expert Dr. Abinash Achrekar. Border and pueblo communities will have a higher incident of unvaccinated people. And an additional fear of ICE will prevent them from getting to a free clinic.
So what can be done? Any public health campaigns to overcome vaccine hesitancy must be:
Building trust is a long-term endeavor that requires active listening and genuine engagement. Approaching the elders and leaders within each community to record social media posts (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook). More public display of trusted individuals getting vaccinated. TANDO will follow these guidelines as we develop storylines for videos, and social media posts.
