World is more dangerous if fear prevents vaccinations

No innovation in the history of medicine has saved more lives than vaccines.

The COVID-19 vaccines will save millions of lives, but only if we get our shots. If we hesitate, then fear, misinformation and willful ignorance will continue to have a devastating impact on the most vulnerable among us, especially those with underlying health conditions. Fear does not give people a right to make the world a more dangerous place for our loved ones.

The reality is that vaccines will always have some risk and there will be people who will experience allergic reactions and uncomfortable side effects.

To be clear, there certainly are legitimate medical reasons why some people can’t be vaccinated. Herd immunity keeps us from getting sick and that is exactly why everyone who can be vaccinated has the moral and ethical imperative to get the COVID-19

vaccine as soon as it is made available to them.

The good news is that the first vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are highly effective, making it possible to reach herd immunity with about 75% of the people vaccinated, unlike measles which requires 95% of the population for the same protection. This could still prove difficult because our culture idealizes individualism to such a degree that some people may not appreciate how their fear and hesitation can affect their own health and damage the lives of others.

Less than five years ago, Marin went from having one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state to one of the highest. Our family had no choice but to get involved in driving needed change: our son Rhett was finishing 3 ½ years of chemotherapy treatments for leukemia when a measles outbreak that began at Disneyland left him vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. He could not be vaccinated, and we knew that the only way to keep him safe was to make sure that more people in our community were vaccinated.

Rhett was only 6 years old when he stood up to tell his story to and eventually win the hearts and minds of parents and legislators. California’s Legislature responded by enacting landmark legislation eliminating personal belief exemptions, which had allowed parents to avoid vaccinating their children. Vaccination rates in the Golden State soared to nearly 96%, restoring the levels needed to keep our communities safe from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles.

It was unprecedented to have significant bipartisan legislation passed, signed into law, and deliver positive results so quickly. California’s success in eliminating personal belief exemptions illustrated that it is possible to effectively counter misinformation and fears raised by the antivaccination movement, and to mobilize public support for legislation.

It is too soon to consider a legislative solution for COVID-19, but the objective is the same — to get as many people as possible vaccinated against this dangerous and contagious virus. We have learned how antivaccination campaigners operate, and how to identify misinformation.

Most people are not qualified to read medical journals and peer-reviewed studies, and they are vulnerable to rumors and propaganda amplified by social media and political rhetoric. The need to overcome antivax misinformation is exponentially larger and it will require a different approach as the COVID-19 vaccines become widely available.

The supply of vaccines available is far less than the demand and we need to ramp up production dramatically. But as it becomes widely available, community and business leaders must actively endorse and support vaccination programs. Employers can promote it as the best solution for employees to return to work and to get our economy back up and running. Public health officers should include vaccination rates as criteria for re- opening of businesses and inperson activities such as indoor dining, sporting events and concerts.

Anti-vax activists caused the measles epidemic but there is no comparison in lethality between measles and COVID-19. This pandemic has impacted our lives and world to such an extreme that it can, and should, fundamentally change how people feel about vaccines, but we must have the courage to allow science and factual discussion to guide the message and the policy process.

Proudly getting vaccinated is responsible, patriotic, heroic and compassionate. Hesitation is dangerous and refusal is malice. Vaccines save lives.