CDC study and measles outbreaks continue to fuel vaccine safety myths online

This week, a proposed CDC study into vaccines and autism, an ongoing measles outbreaks, and a 20-year-old news clip drove conversations about vaccine safety and effectiveness.

Online vaccine conversations this week focused on the myth that vaccines cause autism, false claims about measles, and flu vaccine effectiveness. While social media users debated whether additional research into the disproven link between vaccines and autism is needed, new and old myths about measles vaccines continued to spread online as the U.S. outbreaks surpassed 350 cases. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old study about flu vaccine effectiveness went viral after a popular vaccine opponent misleadingly claimed it proves the flu shot is a “failure.”

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What’s trending in vaccine conversation:

False narratives about vaccines and autism continue to circulate across social media platforms. Much of the conversations are related to the CDC’s plan to research the debunked link, with popular posts supporting and criticizing the proposed study. Supporters say that vaccine advocates should welcome additional studies and falsely insinuate that vaccines don’t undergo rigorous safety testing before and after approval. Critics emphasize that there are already decades of research definitively disproving the link and that additional CDC studies are a waste of time and resources that won’t add to knowledge about vaccine safety.

Although online posts about measles have declined since last week, the conversation has continued as infections surpassed 350 nationwide. Several posts continued to minimize the severity of measles and claimed that news coverage of ongoing outbreaks is fearmongering to promote vaccines. Some vaccine opponents argued that measles outbreaks prove that vaccines don’t work, while others continued to allege without evidence that the MMR vaccines caused the outbreaks. Other myths that continue to spread are claims that vitamin A can prevent measles, that the measles vaccine causes autism, and that the vaccine is more dangerous than the disease.

An old news segment discussing a 2005 NIH study about flu vaccine efficacy in older adults is circulating among popular anti-vaccine accounts, garnering widespread attention. The study found that flu-related deaths in older adults did not decrease during the study period despite a significant increase in flu vaccine uptake. Posts sharing the clip claim that the study proves the flu vaccine is ineffective. Several posts suggest that the study was “buried” and that NIH officials “don’t want you to know” about a study the agency conducted, published, and widely publicized 20 years ago. Some posts expressed distrust in people promoting flu vaccines and claimed that they are “done with flu shots forever.” The segment was first shared last week by a well-known vaccine opponent with a large online following. The clip has since been viewed millions of times across multiple social media platforms, often accompanied by posts repeating myths about flu vaccine safety.

Read the fact checks: 

• College of Physicians of Philadelphia: Why Have Vaccines Been Ruled Out as a Cause of Autism? 
• Public Good News: Don’t let these myths stop you from getting your flu shot
• AAP: How to Protect Your Children During a Measles Outbreak 

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Talking points for health care providers to use in response to trending narratives

Each week the Infodemiology.com team will provide talking points and supporting messages in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. Health care providers can use this messaging when discussing vaccines online, talking to patients, or engaging with communities.

Research has repeatedly proven that vaccines are safe and don’t cause autism.

• Anti-vaccine advocates have spent decades trying to convince parents that vaccines cause autism, a myth that scientists have disproved many times.
• What’s one reason we know that vaccines don’t cause autism? Because unvaccinated and vaccinated children have the same autism rates.
• Dozens of studies have tried to find any evidence of a link between vaccines and autism, and none ever has.

Measles outbreaks happen when not enough people are vaccinated. 

• Measles is one the most contagious human diseases, infecting 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to it. 
• High vaccination rates act as a firewall by reducing the risk that unvaccinated people will come in contact with measles. Even if only 5 percent of the population is unvaccinated, measles can spread easily among people who are unable or unwilling to get vaccinated.
• Vaccination is the only protection against measles. 

Don’t skip your flu shot. It protects against infection, severe illness, and death.

• The annual flu vaccine trains your body to fight the current circulating viruses, which change each season. 
• Getting vaccinated makes you far less likely to catch the flu. And if you do get sick, vaccination dramatically reduces your risk of getting seriously ill or needing to go to the hospital. 
• Decades of research show that flu vaccination reduces the risk of serious flu-related complications and death.

Interested in recommendations tailored to public health professionals? Click here.