Vaccination benefits outweigh risks

A recent study finds that parents who receive false information as their first contact about vaccinations are less likely have children immunized for diseases such as polio, pertussis, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella or chickenpox.

The study, in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, reveals that people without previous information about vaccines are less likely to vaccinate their child if they are introduced to anti-vaccination conspiracy theories before they are presented with the solid facts about vaccine safety and effectiveness.

The good news is that the converse is also true. Uninformed folks who are given the factual/actual information first are resistant to conspiracy theories and more likely to vaccinate.

Nationally it’s estimated that almost 9 percent of parents refuse at least one vaccine, and 3.3 percent refuse all vaccines for their children. That puts children too young to be vaccinated, older folks, those with compromised immune systems and the unvaccinated children at risk for life-threatening diseases.

Maybe we need a public health campaign that makes first contact with people about the importance of vaccinations. Talk to your friends and neighbors about immunizations, and let them know that the benefits outweigh serious risks by 40,000 to 1.

Vaccinating against deadly diseases should be a no-brainer for parents.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@ sharecare.com.