theGIST Issue 12

in preschools or schools run by the
state, proof of vaccination will be required.
If this can't be provided, parents
will be fined. The success of
these campaigns has been difficult to
establish so far. In France, there is no
central hub for collecting data on
vaccine uptake, so it may take some
time before success can reliably be
measured. In Italy, since the compulsory
vaccine mandate, vaccination
rates for MMR and polio have increased.
However, there are concerns
about access to vaccines
across the country which may require
improvements in infrastructure and
funding, if the mandate is to be a
true success.
A recent study has tried to answer
the question of the effectiveness of
these policies on vaccine uptake and
disease prevention in high-income
countries [11]. This study noted that
these countries pose a significant
challenge, as there is a higher proportion
of elderly individuals than in
lower-income countries. This means
there is a higher level of the popula-
Science in the Spotlight
tion susceptible to measles or other
diseases if there is an outbreak,
meaning high vaccine coverage is
crucial. The research took the approach
of computationally modelling
the levels of measles immunity in
seven countries between 2018 and
2050 based on various methods to
increase vaccine compliance. They
showed that the numbers of
measles-susceptible individuals
would increase in all countries studied
if no changes to policy were
made. The results from this study
suggested that by adjusting current
methods measles would be eliminated
in the UK, Ireland, the US and
Italy but not Singapore and South
Korea. The research also suggested
that focusing efforts on implementing
policies for compulsory vaccination
was not enough and educational
programmes for adults would be
needed.
The response to the UK initiating
such a mandate has left people divided.
Some believe that it is necessary
if cases of measles are not to
increase. However, some people think
it is not yet time for requirements
from the government, and parents
believe it is their right to choose what
happens with their children's health –
mostly stemming from their mistrust
in vaccines. For those unsure about a
government mandate, suggestions for
an alternative to policy change would
be to provide suitable time slots for
vaccination, and allowing sufficient
time for any questions from concerned
parents to be answered, despite
the inconvenience of
appointment times only being a negative
factor for a small proportion of
parents [12].
At the moment, the measles virus is
gaining increasingly more power. Vaccines
themselves are incredibly effective
if they are used, there just
needs to be a better way to enable
this. So whether it be a new policy,
adult education programmes, a way to
stop misinformation spread or a combination
of all of these, let's hope that
a successful strategy is found sooner
rather than later.
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