Vaccine misinformation, which first began spiraling during the Covid-19 pandemic, has grown in the United States in the years since, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

More than 1,500 adults responded to the survey between October 5 – 12 and according to the results, the share of people who viewed vaccines as less safe and effective has increased since April 2021, when the group was first included on a panel for the survey.

Americans are less likely to consider it safe to get the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), pneumonia and Covid-19 vaccines than they were in April 2021.

While still a small group, people with views about the vaccines causing autism, cancer and illnesses such as the flu or Covid-19 also ticked up.

  • jeffw@lemmy.worldM
    181·
    1 year ago

    Reminds me of a recent study where dog owners are starting to question the rabies vaccine

    We’re going to live through a time where this “skepticism” results in old diseases coming back.

    • henfredemars@infosec.pubEnglish
      13·
      1 year ago

      Oh for Christ’s sake… do they not know what rabies is?

      Getting or spreading rabies is not an option.

    • NaibofTabr@infosec.pubEnglish
      5·
      1 year ago

      We’re going to live through a time where this “skepticism” results in old diseases coming back.

      It’s already happening

      in recent years, anti-vaccination sentiment has allowed for the reemergence of measles outbreaks […] There is concern that the World Health Organization (WHO) may rescind the U.S.'s measles elimination status […] The director of the National Institutes of Health wrote in 2016 that parents refusing to vaccinate their children were leading to outbreaks of preventable diseases, including measles. The World Health Organization also reported that the rise in measles is a direct result of anti-vaccination movements.

      Anti-vaxxers are a public health hazard.