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Discovery: Vaccination: The Global Picture: Can psychology boost vaccination rates?

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A vial of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, Boston Children"s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts February 26, 2015.

01/07/2019 GMT

Can psychology boost vaccination rates?

Vaccination: The Global Picture

BBC World Service - Discovery, Vaccination: The Global Picture, Can psychology boost vaccination rates?Search BBC

Is compulsory vaccination necessary or can gentle persuasion boost immunisation rates?

Lessons learned from 1950s US polio vaccine disaster; compulsory vaccines proposal for pre-schoolers in German state; online "vaccinations" against fake news

In the 1950s a batch of polio vaccine in the US was made badly, resulting in 10 deaths and the permanent paralysis of 164 people. Paul Offit, a paediatrician in Philadelphia, says the disaster did not turn people away from vaccines. He believes that current vaccine hesitancy needs to be tackled online - where fake news spreads quickly. 

The German state of Brandenburg wants to make pre-school vaccinations compulsory - like neighbouring France and Italy - because immunisation rates there dropped to 73%. But some doctors believe busy parents can instead be gently persuaded to take up vaccines. 

Perhaps this is where psychological research can play a role. Sander van der Linden, Director of the Cambridge Social Decision Making Lab in the UK, is working on an online game which "inoculates" people against fake news - by showing them how they can be manipulated online. He says the effects last about 6 weeks - so a "booster" may be necessary. 

Head of the Vaccine Confidence Project Heidi Larson applauds 18 year old American Ethan Lindenberger who decided to get vaccinated despite his own mother's anti-vax views which he says she got from reading church and internet anti-vaccination groups rather than from the medical profession. 

Producer: Paula McGrath

Picture: A vial of measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and an information sheet, Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts February 26, 2015.   Credit:  Reuters / Brian Snyder / File Photo

Discovery: Vaccination: The Global Picture

Claudia Hammond reports on why some around the world refuse to vaccinate their children.

Claudia Hammond and guests report from parts of the world where certain groups of people have refused to allow their children to be vaccinated. They explore the reasons for their views, which vary from distrust of the government to fears of the side effects of the vaccines.

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