What’s the cure for misinformation on vaccines?
European Commission and World Health Organization urge action against anti-vaccination campaigns.
Diseases that were once eliminated are back.
Preventable illnesses such as measles are spreading, especially in Europe and North America.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission joined forces to tackle the issue at the first global vaccination summit.
WHO estimates nearly 20 million infants were not immunised last year.
Although many of them live in developing countries with poor access to vaccines, scientists are worried that anti-vaccination campaigners in the developed world are spreading misinformation on social media.
So what’s the cure for their scepticism?
Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra
Guests:
Ali Khan – dean of the University of Nebraska College of Public Health and a former senior administrator at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Heidi Larson – director of the Vaccine Confidence Project and a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Derek Gatherer – virologist and lecturer at Lancaster University