What is herd immunity, and how does it relate to pediatric vaccination uptake? US parent perspectives

Social Science & Medicine
Elisa J Sobo

Abstract

In light of current concern over pediatric immunization rates, 53 US parents with at least one child kindergarten age or younger were surveyed and interviewed regarding vaccine decision making. Data were collected in 2014 in San Diego, California. Herd immunity was not a salient issue: only six (11.3%) referenced the term or concept spontaneously; others had to be prompted. Parents familiar with herd immunity (70%) variously saw it as not just unnecessary but unproven, illogical, unrealistic, and unreliable. For instance, parents questioned its attainability because many adults do not immunize themselves. Some understood the concept negatively, as an instance of "herd mentality." Further, having knowledge of herd immunity that public health experts would deem 'correct' did not lead to full vaccination. Implications of findings for understanding how the public makes use of scientific information, the potential role of public health messaging regarding altruism and 'free-riding,' and assumptions that vaccine-cautious parents would willfully take advantage of herd immunity are explored in relation to parent role expectations and American individualism.

References

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Citations

Jul 11, 2019·Expert Review of Vaccines·Charlotte SwitzerMark Loeb
Jul 31, 2019·Journal of Child Health Care : for Professionals Working with Children in the Hospital and Community·Gudrun Rudolfsson, Veronika Karlsson
Sep 19, 2019·Journal of Medical Ethics·Gregory L Bock
May 21, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Viju RaghupathiWullianallur Raghupathi
Mar 2, 2019·The British Journal of General Practice : the Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners·Mark Riley
Mar 20, 2019·Global Public Health·Vincanne AdamsFrancisco Ortega
Jul 31, 2018·Mathematical Medicine and Biology : a Journal of the IMA·Bruno BuonomoAlberto d'Onofrio
Oct 26, 2018·BMC Medical Ethics·Laura Williamson, Hannah Glaab

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