Amid COVID-19 Vaccine Race, Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Aspen Institute Release Report on Vaccine Hesitancy; A Call to Improve Vaccine Acceptance…

Washington, D.C., June 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the COVID-19 vaccine race accelerates, experts recognize that the challenge will not end with the development of a vaccine. The extraordinary effort to make a vaccine available across the globe will only be effective if the majority of people achieve immunity through vaccination. Meeting the Challenge of Vaccination Hesitancy, a new report released today by the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science and Policy Group, calls for an urgent, coordinated effort to strengthen vaccine acceptance and address the risk that vaccination hesitancy the reluctance or opposition to vaccination despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines poses to communities around the world.

The global call for a vaccine to end the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the value of vaccines for the health and economic stability of individuals and communities. While the world eagerly awaits the day when COVID-19 vaccines will be widely available, the threat of deadly vaccine-preventable outbreaks is at our doorstep. Just last year, the United States suffered its largest measles outbreak in 20 years, concentrated in communities with low immunization rates. Similar outbreaks have occurred around the world in communities susceptible to measles because of under vaccination.

Designed to maintain, restore and strengthen confidence in the value of vaccines, the report includes three big ideas that alone and together can contribute to reversing the trend. The report calls for:

Progress toward increasing immunization coverage has stalled in recent years, opening the door to outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases. This trend is often fueled by complacency and loss of confidence in the system that develops, produces, recommends and delivers vaccines. Hesitancy toward vaccination can be exacerbated by the spread of misinformation about the safety and efficacy of vaccines across the internet.

With misleading and conspiratorial vaccine theories proliferating online, it has become critical to effectively measure and understand the impact of vaccine misinformation, and to devise a strategy to enhance public trust in all vaccines. These actions are needed to protect overall health for the next generation and to ensure successful uptake of a COVID-19 vaccine when it is available.

The new report presents an in-depth analysis into the root causes of vaccine hesitancy, an exploration of the current landscape of misinformation and actionable steps to address these trends. The report is a product of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group, a joint initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute (Sabin) and the Aspen Institute, made up of 24 global innovators and thought leaders with converged expertise across public health, medicine, philanthropy, venture capital, biotechnology, biology, ecology, ethics and journalism. Misinformation on social media and skepticism and distrust in government, industry and science are detailed in the five background papers that frame the report.

In order to shift the conversation and address the dangers of misinformation, we need to learn how people make decisions about vaccines, said Shirley M. Tilghman, president emerita of the university, professor of molecular biology and public affairs at Princeton University and Sabin-Aspen Group co-chair. This requires understanding the social processes that contribute to attitudes around vaccines and conducting effective education and outreach to activate awareness and support for immunization.

Developing strategies to counter vaccine hesitancy will require significant investment, as well as broader engagement with new disciplines and collaborators, especially within the social and behavioral sciences and with social media platforms, said Harvey V. Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and a Sabin-Aspen Group co-chair. Many of the tech companies are aware of and have begun to be responsive to vaccine misinformation; now its up to us to deepen this partnership to improve vaccine acceptance and protect the health of individuals and communities around the world.

Misinformation is emerging about COVID-19 vaccines, even as they are early in development, increasing the urgency to understand vaccine hesitancy and put forth actionable solutions, said Bruce Gellin, M.D., M.P.H., Sabins president of Global Immunization. We are proud to share this report, and grateful for our partnership with the Aspen Institute and the leaders who have brought their creativity and determination to this issue.

Vaccines face another obstacle their own success. Decades of diligent vaccination campaigns have established community immunity (or herd immunity), in which the percentage of a population immune to a disease is high enough to prevent its spread. As a result, the potentially deadly consequences of not vaccinating have become less apparent to the general public, leading to a rise in complacency.

Vaccine uptake is just as critical to understand and improve as vaccine access said Ruth Katz, executive director of the Aspen Institute Health, Medicine and Society (HMS) Program. If the factors that contribute to vaccine hesitancy complacency, convenience and confidence are not properly understood or addressed, the health and wellbeing of future generations will be at risk.

The Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group is a partnership that brings together senior leaders across many disciplines to examine some of the most challenging vaccine-related issues and drive impactful change. This second meeting of the Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group and its research and report were funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Read the full report.

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BACKGROUND

About Sabin-Aspen Vaccine Science & Policy Group

Co-chairs:

Members

About the Sabin Vaccine Institute

The Sabin Vaccine Institute is a leading advocate for expanding vaccine access and uptake globally, advancing vaccine research and development, and amplifying vaccine knowledge and innovation. Unlocking the potential of vaccines through partnership, Sabin has built a robust ecosystem of funders, innovators, implementers, practitioners, policy makers and public stakeholders to advance its vision of a future free from preventable diseases. As a non-profit with more than two decades of experience, Sabin is committed to finding solutions that last and extending the full benefits of vaccines to all people, regardless of who they are or where they live. At Sabin, we believe in the power of vaccines to change the world. For more information, visit http://www.sabin.org and follow us on Twitter, @SabinVaccine.

About the Aspen Institutes Health, Medicine and Society Program

Established in 2005, the Aspen Institutes Health, Medicine and Society Program brings together influential groups of thought leaders, decision-makers, and the informed public to consider health challenges facing the U.S. in the 21st century and to identify practical solutions for addressing them. For more information, visit http://www.aspeninstitute.org/programs/health-medicine-and-society-program. TheAspen Instituteis a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

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Amid COVID-19 Vaccine Race, Sabin Vaccine Institute and the Aspen Institute Release Report on Vaccine Hesitancy; A Call to Improve Vaccine Acceptance...