The anti-vax movement must be fought to preserve global health

Health officials celebrate a symbolic victory in the fight against the anti-vax movement, which is campaigning around the world to give parents the right to prevent their children from being vaccinated against infectious diseases. In Italy, last week, a suspended law was imposed, making it compulsory before kindergarten and imposing a € 500 fine on parents whose children had not been vaccinated at the age of six.

The country is an important test case because it has one of the most active anti-vax campaigns in Europe and a populist government, some of whose older members are skeptical about vaccines. Their influence led last year to the suspension of mandatory compulsory vaccination introduced in 2017 in the face of rapidly rising incidence of measles among Italian unprotected children. Although another political shift is not ruled out in Rome's uncertain political climate, the voices of reason in the health ministry have won the last round of political debate.

The World Health Organization was right to name "vaccine hesitancy" as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019. Immunization currently prevents 2 to 3 million deaths a year worldwide, according to the WHO, and 1.5 million additional lives could be saved if the vaccination rates improved.

Although measles is not at the top of the global list of deadly diseases, its re-emergence in developed countries, after virtual elimination, represents the damage caused by declining vaccination rates. The WHO said that measles cases in Europe last year exceeded 82,000, with 72 deaths; the total is three times higher than in 2017 and 15 times more than in 2016. The number of cases reported in the US so far this year already accounts for 72% of the figure for 2018.

Each country should adopt the goal of a 95% vaccination rate for the dozen diseases for which a safe, inexpensive and effective childhood vaccine is available. At the present time, few countries reach this level, which, according to epidemiologists, is essential for collective immunity – when there are too few people likely to be infected for that disease. 39, a virus is spreading among the population. And in some localities affected by measles outbreaks, such as Clark County in the state of Washington, rates are much lower.

For reasons of administrative convenience, entry into compulsory education is a sensible way of imposing the vaccination of children. People who choose to vaccinate or not are not the ones who will benefit from the vaccine but their parents.

advisable

In the United States, where vaccination policy is the responsibility of each state, the requirements vary considerably from one country to another. Many states allow parents to claim a "religious exemption," which is somewhat absurd, as no traditional religion opposes vaccination. Many also allow an exemption from "personal belief" or "philosophical" if parents oppose for non-religious reasons.

The only circumstances in which the authorities, wherever they are, should allow children to avoid vaccination are based on genuine medical reasons, for example when a defective immune system greatly increases the risk of the procedure.

In addition to strict enforcement of vaccination at the entrance of schools, governments must insist that social media end the profusion of scientific hoaxes and false information that propelled the anti-vax movement. Facebook and YouTube have promised to remove advertising from sites beyond medically acceptable limits and to reduce their visibility in search results. In the interest of public health worldwide, they must be held accountable.