Parents becoming more supportive of vaccines

A new study suggests vaccinations are gaining popularity among parents.

Thirty-four percent of parents think vaccines are more beneficial than they thought a year ago, according to a University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children Hospital survey. In addition, 25 percent of parents said they think vaccines are safer, and 35 percent are more supportive of vaccination requirements in daycare settings and schools compared to last year.

“Vaccinations are the key to health care,” says Dr. Wendell Wheeler, pediatrician at Advocate Trinity Hospital in Chicago. “We have seen major strides in the health care in the last 100 years and a lot of it is due to vaccinations. I have seen the benefits of vaccines in my practice over the last 30 years.”

Outbreaks of measles and whooping cough in 2014 and early 2015 sparked national conversations about childhood vaccinations. A multi-state outbreak of measles linked to an amusement park in California in 2015 caused widespread concerns. From December 2014 to April of this year, more than 113 people contracted measles, many of whom visited or worked at the Disneyland theme park in Orange County, Calif.  Most of the people falling ill had not been vaccinated.

In addition, 40 percent of parents polled deemed measles as a higher risk in the U.S. than they believed a year ago, while 45 percent thought the risk was the same, and 15 percent believed it was a lower risk.

“Over the last year, there have been high-profile news stories about outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough,” said Dr. Matthew Davis, professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School, in a news release. “These news reports may be influencing how parents perceive childhood vaccines across the country.”