World Immunization Week

This week is World Immunization Week (April 24-30) and Global Medicine Initiative would like to raise awareness of the importance of addressing vaccine hesitancy to increase global acceptance of vaccines, not only COVID vaccines that are the current emphasis, but also routine immunizations. With so much apprehension surrounding vaccines in this climate, vaccine hesitancy is an increasingly difficult obstacle that must be overcome to enhance global health.

Vaccine hesitancy is defined as “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines” and was listed as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019 by the WHO. Common causes of hesitancy include vaccine safety concerns (mainly stemming from media highlighting incidences of adverse reactions), mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry, the desire for natural immunity, and fear of pain. We’ve all heard or seen phrases such as “this vaccine was developed too fast”, “vaccines cause autism”, and “vaccines have dangerous ingredients” used in the news and social media. Unfortunately, it’s this type of misinformation that contributes to the increasing prevalence of hesitancy. Providing facts and numbers is usually not enough and healthcare providers often find themselves using a variety of techniques to educate and promote the importance of vaccines. These techniques include communicating effectively and building trust with patients to address their concerns, focusing on the benefits of protection and being honest about side effects, offering pain management strategies, and most importantly, myth busting.

As we wrap up this unconventional virtual school year and head into our placements, we will undoubtedly encounter many questions about vaccinations. As pharmacy professionals, we have a duty to promote the importance of vaccination and address patient concerns to increase confidence in all immunizations. Most importantly, it’s crucial to integrate various techniques into our patient interactions to effectively combat vaccine hesitancy globally and in our community.

– Anthony Singh (2T3 Class Rep) & Alissa Kong (2T4 Class Rep)