Dive Brief:
- A recent study published in Vaccine looked at 800 vaccine-related "pins" or discussions on Pinterest and found 75% were negative about vaccines. This is in stark contrast to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey where 83% of Americans said the measles vaccine is safe.
- The study was unable to establish whether there is a real effort to spread negative vaccine information by either individuals, organizations or both but the imbalance of views and misleading information on Pinterest can prevent parents from vaccinating their children, according to Forbes.
- The authors suggest health educators and organizations should be aware of how the public communicates about a specific topic.
Dive Insight
Health information on social media sites like Pinterest could be improved if scientists became more active on those sites, three researchers from the Drexel University of Public Health, suggested in a response letter to the study published in Vaccine.
They also raised concerns about the prevalence of anti-vaccination posts. "The anti-vaccine messages of today threaten to detrimentally influence public opinion, vaccination policy, and public health," they wrote.
Anti-vaccination posts may sway parents into refusing to vaccinate their children, which can increase disease risk, Forbes reported.
The U.S. measles outbreak in 2014, with 667 cases, was the highest number of cases since it was eliminated in 2000. According to the CDC, the majority of those who got the measles were unvaccinated.