What Do Doctors Say on Increasing Vaccine Hesitancy?

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO) figures, cases of measles tripled in 2018 compared to the previous year, claiming 72 lives.

Amid the increase in such diseases and vaccine hesitancy, İstanbul Medical Chamber's Commission for Children's Rights has held a panel discussion titled, "Vaccine Hesitancy, Its Causes, Families' Stances, the Doctor's Responsibility, and Children's Rights."

Pediatrician Dr. Ümit Şen moderated the panel, Pediatrician Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda Karaayvaz and Public Health Specialist Prof. Dr. Nilay Etiler shared their experiences.

"Do vaccines contain pig products?"

Dr. Karaayvaz said that through vaccines, 3 million child deaths in the world and 14 thousand child deaths in Turkey are prevented yearly.

On the other hand, vaccines are mostly debated in terms of whether they contain pig products or not, says Karaayvaz. She said that the doctors constantly have to underpin that the vaccines in Turkey do not contain pig products.

Saying, "Vaccines' side effects are so little that they cannot be compared to their effect," Karaayvaz noted that there were 12 thousand cases of vaccine hesitancy in 2016 and 23 thousand cases in 2017 were reported.

"Are vaccines victims of their own success?"

Public Health Specialist Prof. Dr. Nilay Etiler said that one debated question on the topic is, "Are vaccines victims of their own success?"

"Families who oppose vaccines were vaccinated in their childhoods and the diseases became invisible them, losing its importance. The families think they will never encounter diseases that were prevented by vaccines," said Etiler.

"The state's withdrawal from health services and some new practices also brought us to this point. The state steers more than pulling paddles in the current situation," she added.

Also touching on the moral side of the issue, Etiler said, "The neoliberal era was also influential on the human character. We see this in anti-vaccination. We began to hear many people saying, 'Since a certain rate of vaccination protects the children, then the other people should vaccinate their children, I won't.' This indicates a very serious moral problem. I think anti-vaccination is a moral problem. The media is also irresponsible, unfortunately."

"We need to see political determination"

"Vaccines, unfortunately, became a political football. The Ministry of Health does not show much will. We need to see political determination. The Ministry should say, 'Vaccination is important. Vaccine your children.'" (AÖ/VK)

Photo: Prof. Dr. Nilay Etiler, Dr. Ümit Şen, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selda Karaayavaz.