Issue link: https://tmcpulse.uberflip.com/i/1162476
11 t m c » p u l s e | s e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9 And therein lies the crux of the issue: While the medical community has proven time and again that vaccines are safe and effective in preventing a multitude of diseases, many vaccine-hesitant parents still conclude that the safest choice for their children is letting nature take its course. "The one thing we can all agree on is that we want our chil- dren, and we want our families, to be safe and healthy," said Rekha Lakshmanan, MHA, director of advocacy and public policy at The Immunization Partnership, a Houston-based nonprofit that promotes vaccination through education initiatives, policy efforts and commu- nity outreach initiatives. "Where there is some divergence, however, is where and how you get the information, and what information you use to make that informed decision." According to experts, parents are increasingly turning to the inter- net as their voice of authority on the topic. "There is a lot of misinformation, and I think it's really hard to navigate what's out there—we call it 'Dr. Google,'" Wootton said. Hotez noted that the latest data suggests there are at least 480 anti-vaccine websites, many of which are widely circulated through- out social media. "You're more likely to download misinformation than you are real information," Hotez said. "Most of the time, parents are willing to have their kids vaccinated; it's a very small percentage of parents who are deeply dug in. It's just that they're scared because they download all the misinformation, which is ubiquitous on the internet." Lakshmanan echoed Hotez's assertion that the anti-vaccination movement is small but powerful. "At the end of the day, people who are opposed to vaccines are a relatively small group of people, but they are extremely vocal and engaged in advocacy, and as a result of their loudness, they look and feel a lot bigger than what they really are," Lakshmanan said, adding that The Immunization Partnership urges parents to listen to their physicians rather than what they've read online. "Although physicians educate their patients, they also need to advocate for strong, sound immunization policies and edu- cate policy mak- ers," she added. "Physicians are not only a trusted voice to patients, they are a trusted voice to policy decision makers." At the moment, the num- ber of unvacci- nated children in Texas is rising. "We've got over 64,000 kids not getting vacci- nated, and these are the ones we know about— we don't know anything about the home-schooled kids," Hotez said. "This issue is not going to go away any time soon." The one thing we can all agree on is that we want our children, and we want our fam- ilies, to be safe and healthy. Where there is some divergence, however, is where and how you get the information, and what information you use to make that informed decision. — REKHA LAKSHMANAN, MHA Director of advocacy and public policy at The Immunization Partnership