“I heard there is a microchip in the vaccine.” That’s what a surprising number of people tell Rupali Limaye, PhD, about why they don’t want to vaccinate their children.

They might also say they are worried that certain vaccines cause autism (a persistent myth that is actually unfounded), or that the recommended vaccination schedules are dangerously fast, or that there are long-lasting side effects, or that the government is withholding the vaccine. information, or that infections are not dangerous, among other things, he says.

The problem, says Limaye, who studies human behavior and the spread of disease at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, is that science simply doesn’t support these ideas.

Vaccines They are a miracle of the modern world, protecting against diseases such as hepatitis B, diphtheria, polio, measles and tetanus, which, in earlier times, killed and debilitated millions of people around the world, Limaye says.

That’s why the CDC, the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other reputable health organizations are so clear about the vaccine schedule that almost all parents should follow.

Whatever the reasons, when parents skip government-mandated and doctor-recommended childhood vaccines, they not only risk the health of their own children. They also put the health of the community at risk, says Limaye.

Addressing vaccine gaps saves lives. Worldwide, measles deaths decreased by 74% between 2000 and 2007, thanks in large part to increased vaccination.

In the United States, marginalized communities appear to be hardest hit by the fallout from vaccine hesitancy. This is often because they lack adequate access to the medical care and health education that can make a difference during an illness.

For example, flu hospitalizations were 1.8 times more common among black populations between 2009 and 2022, compared to white populations: American Indians were 1.3 times more likely and Hispanics were 1.2 times more likely . But, research has shown, delayed vaccinations in those communities may also be part of the problem.

In 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, measles outbreaks reached their highest levels since 1994. This happened because more and more parents were opting out of the program. triple viral vaccine (which prevents measles, mumps and rubella), often due to false information about its dangers.

Herd vaccination rates with MMR must be around 95% to be effective. Below that, there is a risk of an outbreak, especially in areas where children have not received both doses of the vaccine, which can be quite common. (For example, data from 2016 showed that in certain Minnesota counties, nearly half of all children under age 7 had not received both doses.)

These measles outbreaks in 2019 were particularly notable in some Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, New York, where there were low vaccination rates along with legal loopholes for religious communities.

At the root of these outbreaks were erroneous preconceptions about the safety of vaccination and its relationship to Jewish law. But the increase in illnesses in children led to a wide-ranging community discussion between the New York State Department of Health, Jewish academics, local health professionals and the community at large that helped increase vaccination rates and reduce infection rates.

Other cases have been more difficult to treat. For example, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic pandemic, a 2021 Yale study showed that a group identified as white evangelical Christians could be convinced to get vaccinated based on the greater good of the community. But research showed that the effect seemed to fade as the pandemic progressed, perhaps as attitudes toward vaccines became more closely tied to certain identities and political views.

Still, there’s no reason why vaccine education can’t work in religious communities, Limaye says. While research shows a trend toward vaccine skepticism among certain religious groups, only about 3% of people believe their religion explicitly prohibits vaccination, according to a 2022 study from the University of Michigan.

Vaccine education can turn the tide, but the approach you take can make all the difference.

According to research, campaigns that focus on a particular religious identity are more likely to provoke defensive reactions. It is better to focus on the universal moral value of caring for others.

In fact, it’s often best not to contradict points of view directly, no matter how unusual they may seem, Limaye says. So what do you say to someone who is concerned about microchips in a vaccine?

“I say, ‘I know there’s a lot of information out there and it’s hard to determine what’s real and what’s not.’ Let me explain a little about the vaccine development process.’ “

“Part of it is framing it this way that it’s a shared decision-making process,” he says.

Keep providing information, he says. In one case, Limaye saw the mother of a child with asthma decide to vaccinate after learning that another child with COVID died because he also had asthma.

Correcting new myths that emerge can often be a game of whack-a-mole, Limaye says. That’s why she has some general guidelines for how to talk to a person who may be misinformed about the dangers and benefits of vaccines:

• Listen to concerns and don’t immediately correct beliefs that seem based on misinformation.
• Try to address individual concerns with data from reliable sources such as the CDC, National Institutes of Health, or the American Academy of Pediatrics. In cases where a person distrusts one of the sources (such as the CDC), it is good to have other reliable options.
• Consider providing something to read from a trusted source, either in the form of a link or hard copy. “Whether they ask for it or not, I’d rather give them something to look at than make them Google something on their own,” Limaye says.
• Listen carefully to objections to what you say and understand that persuasion can take much longer than a 15-minute conversation.
• Give details. Limaye advises medical students in her class to explain to parents and patients more information about how vaccines are created.

And don’t talk down to people, says Limaye.. Strive to satisfy them on their own terms. Personal stories are a great way to connect. If you have a personal story about a child who became seriously ill due to lack of vaccination, “I think it’s really powerful.”