Side Effect Fears Deter European Teens From Vaccines
A total of 20.8% of European adolescents showed reluctance toward vaccination. This finding comes from a recent study published in BMC Public Health , led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain.
The research surveyed 1877 young people 12-17 years of age from Italy, Portugal, Poland, and Spain, along with 1135 parents. The main factors behind this reluctance include fear of vaccine adverse effects and distrust in government recommendations.
This study is part of Science4Pandemics, a European project that provides a citizen engagement digital platform for collective intelligence in pandemics. The study showed significant differences between the countries. Poland reported a prevalence of 31.6% among adolescents, whereas the number in Spain was 12.5%. This significant difference aligns with 'the historically lower vaccine hesitancy and higher coverage in our country compared to other European nations,' stated Pere Millat-Martínez, MD, physician and scientific researcher at ISGlobal and the study's lead author. He suggested that better results in the Spanish population may be due to 'prevention campaigns conducted by primary care nursing and parental awareness, which greatly influences at home.'
The primary cause of vaccine hesitancy was fear of vaccine side effects, cited by 56.1% of adolescents and 51.9% of parents. 'This data surprised us. We expected the primary factor of hesitancy among adolescents and their parents to be the belief that the diseases are not serious enough,' explained Millat-Martínez.
'It has long been demonstrated that vaccines are safe. An article published in the 1990s linked them to the development of autism, which the anti-vaccine movement relied on. However, it has been shown to be based on false data. In recent years, there has been less talk about myths surrounding side effects, so it is striking to see such a high percentage in our study,' he explained.
Surveys conducted by his team found that up to 22% of adolescents and 22.8% of parents expressed distrust in government recommendations. Among young people, notable reasons included the belief that vaccine-preventable infections are not severe (8.4%) and the perception of a low likelihood of falling ill (8.4%). For parents, reasons for vaccine hesitancy included the belief that preventable infections are not severe (10.4%) and economic barriers (10.9%).
Another surprising conclusion was the response to economic barriers. 'We included this option thinking that few people would select it. In the countries where we conducted the surveys, basic vaccines were covered by the government and were free of charge. Therefore, we thought these data might be influenced by social media,' noted Millat-Martínez, who believes these platforms are a key factor in vaccination coverage.
'It is evident that adolescents rely on social media to form opinions, so any misinformation on these platforms affects young people and the public. A study from another research group in Spain showed that news about vaccines on social media can have both positive and negative influences,' warned Millat-Martínez. Considering this influence, he believes that Europe must improve public health strategies to address vaccine hesitancy and ensure optimal vaccination coverage.
The study showed that adolescents should be the key focus of awareness campaigns. Mass media and school-based initiatives should be used to foster trust in vaccines among this age group. 'If the main causes of vaccine hesitancy are misinformation about their safety and distrust in government-recommended vaccination schedules, to reduce this misconception about immunizations, our recommendation is to direct preventive measures and education about vaccines primarily towards the population group in our study,' concluded Millat-Martínez.
Millat-Martínez declared no conflicts of interest.
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