Abstract
In 2019 the World Health Organization named vaccine hesitancy a top-10 threat to global health (World Health Organization, 2019). To understand the historical roots of this phenomenon and its contemporary implications, this chapter will begin with the history of vaccine development and policy for multiple infectious diseases and an overview of the growth of the anti-vaccine movement. Next, we will place findings from research on vaccine misinformation on social media into a broader historical framework. Finally, we will discuss how applying a historical perspective can help counter the impact and spread of vaccine misinformation, thus improving vaccine education, promotion, and policy.
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Notes
- 1.
Rinderpest, a disease that affects livestock, was declared eradicated by the WHO in 2001.
- 2.
The “a” stands for “acellular.”
- 3.
Previously a physician, Wakefield was striped of his British medical license in 2010.
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Hoffman, B.L., Sidani, J.E., Burke, J.G., Chu, KH., Felter, E.M. (2023). Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media: Historical Contexts, Lessons Learned, and Paths Forward. In: Ginossar, T., Shah, S.F.A., Weiss, D. (eds) Vaccine Communication Online. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24490-2_2
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