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As media attention to the measles outbreak in California continues to grow and prominent politicians weigh in with conflicting messages on requiring vaccines, health policy scholars and political scientists warn of the dangerous consequences that politicization can have on public support for vaccination.
For those people who were less likely to have previously encountered news stories about the HPV vaccine controversy, reading about political conflict decreased support for vaccines in general. It also decreased trust in doctors. This suggests a very troubling implication: media coverage of the controversy about the measles vaccine could actually affect the general public beyond the very small “anti-vax” community
But our research also suggests a way for news coverage to avoid this. We found that news coverage that did not emphasize conflict was associated with increased support for both the HPV vaccine and immunization programs generally. This shows how news media could bolster support for needed vaccinations: steer clear of the political controversy.
And public attention to issues is often short-lived, which means citizens could easily forget political cues about vaccines, presuming that politicians stop stoking the controversy.
However, our research suggests that it is journalists who may not forget. They may continue to remind the public of this controversy for years to come....
Erika Franklin Fowler is an assistant professor of government at Wesleyan University. Sarah Gollust is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Their article about vaccines is part of a special issue of The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. The issue is devoted to research about the politics of science.
originally posted by: ManFromEurope
Your selfish wish to "keep your body as a temple clean and pure" is pure evil against people with immunodeficit illnesses.
- Yes, 1 in a million might die from side-effects of vaccines.
Before vaccines, lots and lots of people died.
- Vaccines cause autism..... They don't.
- And vaccines do not only protect Your body, but many others, too. Your selfish wish to "keep your body as a temple clean and pure" is pure evil against people with immunodeficit illnesses. But, hey, it's your body, and they should just stay at home, right?
originally posted by: GetHyped
originally posted by: gmoneystunt
a reply to: ManFromEurope
Vaccines cause autism..... They don't.
That's debatable
Only if you're an idiot.