A study of over 200,000 people found no evidence that vaccinations increase the risk of developing multiple sclerosis, or the onset of an initial MS episode.
Recently, the WHO declared vaccine hesitancy one of the top ten international public health problems. They report the crisis is man-made, unnecessary and dangerous. Researchers are calling on search engines and social media organizations to do more to stem anti-vaccine rhetoric, and stop the spread of disinformation surrounding vaccinations. They also call for governments to better support mandatory immunization programs.
Current vaccination policies are not sufficient to eliminate measles or prevent against future epidemics in the developed world, researchers report. Introducing compulsory vaccinations before entering school would allow the US, UK and Ireland to reach stable levels of herd immunity in the next ten years, thus helping to avoid future epidemics of the most lethal vaccine-preventable disease.
Another new study refutes claims of a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The study reports no link has been found between MMR and an increased autism risk, even in children with other risk factors for ASD. Researchers also reported, in a subgroup of girls, the MMR vaccine reduced the risk of autism by between 16% and 21%. No link was found between other vaccinations, such as Hib and DTaP, and an increased risk of ASD.
According to researchers, over 50% of people in some European countries still believe the myth that vaccines cause autism, despite the claim being widely discredited. A new paper looks at why so many people may still believe the vaccine-autism link is real.
A new discovery about immune response in infants may help improve vaccine efficacy, researchers report.
Despite the fact papers continue to expose the misinformation linking vaccinations to autism, many people still believe there is a correlation between the two. Researchers found many people get misinformed advice from online resources with negative stances on vaccinations. While using search engines to find negative vaccine advice is common, researchers believe monitoring search results could be useful in identifying people and countries at greatest risk of vaccine misinformation.
Researchers say better adherence to vaccines is needed to help prevent measles epidemics occurring in the U.S.
