‘No no no. Avoid them all’: anti-vaccine conspiracies spread as UK cases of measles increase

In a Facebook group for parents, a mother asks for advice following the recent rise in measles cases.

She has received a letter from the NHS asking her to take her young daughter for the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, because it is “dangerous not to get it”.

But she doesn’t know who to trust. “I’ve done some research, but I feel like a lot of the information on the internet is pro-vaccine,” she wrote.

Another mother is just as insecure. She’s trying to decide whether to take her eldest for their childhood shots and wants to figure out which ones are “worth the risk.” “I’m just trying to learn everything I can about it and make the right decisions. Thank you in advance,” she wrote.

Within minutes, both messages were flooded with replies – almost all giving the same advice.

“No no no. Avoid them all,” says one. “Once injected into the bloodstream, the metals and toxins have access to the brain and every organ!” she wrongly claims. “Arm yourself with information you can refuse because they will pressure you.”

Others share stories of children they claim have been damaged by the MMR vaccine. Some are advising parents to ‘simply ignore’ NHS messages. “I keep getting letters for all my children. It’s scaremongering. I have threatened my operation with intimidation if they don’t stop sending letters,” said another.

The flood of anti-vaccine comments appears to be having the desired effect. Thanks both mothers for the help. Whoever received the NHS letter urging her to take her daughter for the MMR vaccine has made up her mind. “I definitely don’t wish it on her,” she writes.

It’s perhaps not surprising that these conversations are taking place in a Facebook group where discussions about wellness and holistic health are common. But misinformation about the MMR vaccine is not limited to a dark corner of the internet.

Last week, several articles about the increased risk of measles outbreaks in Britain – posted on social media by major media outlets such as Sky and ITV News – were flooded with laughing emojis and skeptical comments such as “More fear porn”, “They want to jab the children ”, “Fear-mongering nonsense” and “Even more fear, so that they inject their children with MMR and at best poison them”. Many responses indicated distrust of the media, healthcare and government. “Rule of thumb: whatever the MSM (mainstream media) pushes, do the opposite,” said one. Anti-immigration rhetoric about the increase in measles cases was also common. “It’s the small boat invasion,” one person wrote.

At the same time, influencers who gained large followings during the pandemic – including those at the forefront of sowing doubt about the Covid vaccines – appear to have shifted some attention to MMR.

Amid a decline in childhood vaccination rates, the resurgence of misinformation is worrying health experts. The latest NHS figures show that uptake of the MMR vaccine is the lowest since 2010-2011, with just 84.5% of children having received both doses by the age of five – well below the WHO recommended rate of 95 %. Measles is also on the rise, with 149 laboratory-confirmed cases this year, compared to 54 in 2022.

Dr. Selvaseelan Selvarajah, a GP in east London, is on the front line of the battle to reverse this trend. In addition to his main practice in Tower Hamlets, he is a clinical lead in Hackney, where MMR uptake is the lowest in England – with only 56.3% of the five-year-olds who had received both doses.

Part of the problem, Selvarajah says, is that there is a “huge overhang” from the time of Andrew Wakefield, who in the late 1990s advanced the debunked theory that the MMR vaccine causes autism – causing its acceptance to plummet. These false claims are still circulating in some parent circles, he added. Even after the pandemic, general skepticism about vaccines has increased: “We have seen a lot more hesitancy since Covid. Theories about the MMR and Covid vaccines have merged.”

While for some, anti-vaccine views are deeply ingrained, others “are not anti-vaxxers, but want more information.” In Hackney there are particular challenges due to the composition of the neighborhood, which includes traditionally under-vaccinated groups such as Orthodox Jewish and Somali communities, as well as some of the ‘white middle class’ who favor ‘more organic, holistic living and do not believe in vaccines”. But the pressure on the wider healthcare system means that Selvarajah could previously talk to a vaccine-hesitant parent for 30 minutes, but can no longer do so. “We don’t have time for it,” he says.

Instead, Selvarajah and his colleagues are testing initiatives including holding community conversations and paying trainee doctors to call the parents of unvaccinated children to more gently encourage them to come in. He also believes that campaigns in daycare centers and schools are needed, as well as more peer activities. support”. A parent sharing the message that their child has had the MMR vaccine and is doing well – or has contracted measles and has not – “is a much more powerful message than expecting an overburdened GP system to do,” he said.

Such a strategy would essentially play anti-vaxxers at their own game. “What anti-vaxxers are really good at is they’re on Facebook, they’re on Instagram and they’re on TikTok,” says Callum Hood, who leads research at the Center for Countering Digital Hate. “Part of the strategy is to be really approachable and easy to access.” Facebook generally allows such discussions, but only removes misinformation that it believes is “likely to directly contribute to the risk of imminent physical harm.”

Modeling from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows that failure to improve vaccination rates could have serious consequences. Although the risk of a national epidemic is low, she believes an outbreak of between 40,000 and 160,000 cases could occur in London due to the capital’s low vaccination rate.

Dr. Vanessa Saliba, head of measles at the UKHSA, said her team has expanded its work with councils and local health teams to improve uptake of MMR and other childhood vaccinations, including “tailored and targeted” interventions in “disenfranchised communities”. Early next year it plans to write to the parents of every unvaccinated child. Staff are also monitoring online misinformation, some of which has been ‘amplified’ during the pandemic. However, Saliba is careful not to exaggerate the impact of such content. Recent research among 1,000 parents by the UKHSA suggests that views on childhood vaccinations remain generally positive. “Parents tell us that they see all kinds of information about vaccines from different sources, such as social media, but they don’t trust those sources,” she says.

With measles outbreaks in other parts of the world, she said it was likely only “a matter of time” before cases in Britain would “surge again”. But she said there was now an “opportunity” to ensure “every child” was protected.

“One in 10 children who get measles will develop complications, and sometimes it can be fatal,” she said. “But it is completely preventable with a vaccine. Every case we get is a real shame.”