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MEDICAL STUDENT

PERSPECTIVES

COMBATTING AND CORRECTIING
MISINFORMATION ON VACCINES

By Lauren Murphy and Anna Pritchard

In recent years, vaccination safety has been under increasing scrutiny and with

easy access to the internet, many people have fallen victim to circulating misin-

formation causing them to have negative attitudes towards vaccination. Accord-

ing to a 2015 NIS survey, Bexar County falls behind the other major Texas cities

in vaccination rates. To assess whether this is due to the increasing circulation of

negative press towards vaccinations, we held a flu vaccine drive in the Westlawn

community where we spoke with members about their beliefs and knowledge of

vaccinations.

Overall, most people we spoke with were in favor of vaccinations and believed

that their benefits outweighed the risks. That being said, a significant portion of

the community came with misguided information learned online or through

friends. One of the biggest concerns expressed was vaccinations causing Guil-

lain-Barre Syndrome. Because this tight knit community saw this rare side effect

on their own, they believed it to be likely to occur again. In predominantly His-

panic communities, like Westlawn and much of Bexar County, there is a strong

emphasis on family and community and there is much dialogue amongst mem-

bers. This can lead to scenarios like the one above where large batches of a community receive some of their medical knowledge from

people other than health care providers that may be extrapolated.

Another common concern was vaccination cost, particularly among parents. For these people, the financial hurdle prevented them

for being able to have themselves and their children vaccinated. We provided these people with a list of local clinics that give free or

discounted vaccinations or participated in programs like TVFC or the Adult Safety Net Program, which provide affordable vaccinations

for qualified individuals. They were also advised on how to enroll in these programs as well as local programs like CareLink.

While nearly everyone we talked with told us they knew how vaccinations worked. However, when asked to explain much of the

community had an incorrect idea of how vaccinations provided immunity. For instance, many people surveyed believed that when

getting an influenza vaccine they were being injected with the live virus. They reported that they felt sick after getting the vaccine in the

past because they were given the flu by it, not that feeling sick was a normal immune response to the vaccine. By teaching them how

vaccinations work and showing them that the influenza vaccine is a dead virus and therefore cannot give you the flu, many people that

were initially reluctant to get vaccinated decided to proceed.

The Westlawn community was receptive towards us and eager to learn

about vaccinations. After speaking with them, it seemed that the overall at-

titude towards vaccinations was positive and only got better when we ad-

dressed any concerns they may have had. We were able to learn more about

the area's culture and better understand how it played a role in their health

care decisions. After working within the community and seeing their open

communication, we hope that their new knowledge of vaccinations spreads

throughout its members. This is turn may diminish some of the negative

attitudes towards vaccination eventually leading to higher immunization rates

in Bexar County. Lauren Murphy is a MS2 at Anna Pritchard is a MS2 at

UT Health San Antonio UT Health San Antonio

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