In recent years, a growing number of childhood illnesses have returned as more and more children’s parents choose not to vaccinate them.

Illnesses like measles, mumps, chickenpox, and whooping cough are all making a comeback because families are choosing not to vaccinate.

The rise in cases is attributed to several factors. One of the main reasons parents are afraid is that some vaccine critics are incorrectly teaching the public that vaccine ingredients cause autism.

In 1998, Andrew Wakefield published a fraudulent study in the Lancet which said there was a link between vaccines and autism. It was debunked and his medical license was taken away. Yet, politicians and celebrities still cite this study as proof.

The Covid-19 crisis has led to more children being unvaccinated. During this time, the average person was getting information from politicians instead of listening to virologists, immunologists and epidemiologists. Not everyone can understand scientific research and googling doesn’t count as “doing research.”

Terms like anti-vaxxer, anti-vax and “the jab” feel like a political statement and the issue of public health is being hijacked by them.

The early part of the pandemic had so much misinformation, especially from then president Donald Trump.

“I see the disinfectant knocks it out in a minute,” Trump said. “One minute. Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning? … so, it’d be interesting to check that.”

People listened to him because he held a position of power that people looked up to. They assumed what he was saying was correct.

According to a 2023 Lancet study, the anti-vaccine movement found foothold in the conservative political identity.

“Antivaccine activists’ pre-pandemic messaging increasingly shifted from expressions of concern about health impacts and safety (e.g. claims that vaccines cause autism) to a philosophical focus on liberty evidenced in arguments about health and medical freedom and parental rights.”

Two pivotal things that contributed to this were California getting rid of personal belief exemptions for school vaccination and the formation of political action committees like Texans for Vaccine Choice, which lobbied the legislature and backed conservative political candidates who were anti-vaccine.

These movements spread like wildfire on social media, especially amongst the crunchy moms and chiropractic community.

The American Pediatric Association said there is a long history of chiropractors being anti-vaccine.

“Evidence-based chiropractors have embraced the concept of vaccination, the rejection of it by conservative chiropractors continues to have a negative influence on both public acceptance of vaccination and acceptance of the chiropractic profession by orthodox medicine.”

One of the reasons that herd immunity is important is because there are people within our communities who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. The more people in the community who get vaccinated, the less unmitigated spread of illness occurs.

With the flu season coming up, people who get the flu vaccine protect babies and those with compromised immune systems who cannot get the shot.

It has become such a hot-topic that parents, children, and extended family relationships have been damaged. As unvaccinated children turn 18, they are starting to get their missing childhood vaccines now that their parents can no longer make health decisions for them.

We need better public health campaigns through social media, print, and in-person presentations.

Mostly, people do not want to get sick or make others sick. The more we unite and prevent diseases from spreading, the more schools and workplaces can stay open and the less overwhelmed clinics and hospitals will be.

These programs would educate people with timely and correct information from people who can knowledgeably address misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.