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 France has the least confidence of any country in the world in the
safety and effectiveness of vaccines, with a third believing that
vaccines are unsafe, according to the study.
While most parents do choose to vaccinate their children, varying
levels of confidence expose vulnerabilities in some countries to
potential disease outbreaks, the study's authors said, recommending
that scientists need to ensure people have access to robust
information from those they trust.
Public health experts and the World Health Organization (WHO) say
vaccines save up to 3 million lives every year worldwide, and
decades of research evidence consistently shows they are safe and
effective.
But to achieve "herd immunity" to protect whole populations,
immunization coverage rates must generally be above 90% or 95%, and
vaccine mistrust can quickly reduce that protection.
"Over the last century, vaccines have made many devastating
infectious diseases a distant memory," said Charlie Weller, head of
vaccines at the Wellcome Trust health charity, which co-led the
Wellcome Global Monitor study.
"It is reassuring that almost all parents worldwide are vaccinating
their children. However, there are pockets of lower confidence in
vaccines across the world."
The spread of measles, including in major outbreaks in the United
States, the Philippines and Ukraine, is just one of the health risks
linked to lower confidence in vaccines.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, false rumors about polio vaccines being
part of a Western plot have in recent years hampered global efforts
to wipe out the crippling disease.
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The study, led by Wellcome and polling company Gallup, covered
140,000 people from more than 140 countries.
It found 6% of parents worldwide - equivalent to 188 million - say
their children are unvaccinated. The highest totals were in China at
9%, Austria at 8% and Japan at 7%.
The study also found that three-quarters of the world's people trust
doctors and nurses more than anyone else for health advice, and that
in most parts of the world, more education and greater trust in
health systems, governments and scientists is a also sign of higher
vaccine confidence.
In some high-income regions, however, confidence is weaker. Only 72%
of people in North America and 73% in Northern Europe agree that
vaccines are safe. In Eastern Europe it is just 50%.
Heidi Larson, director of the vaccine confidence project at the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, worked with
researchers on this study. She said it "exposes the paradox of
Europe" which, despite being a region with among the highest income
and education levels, also has the world's highest levels of vaccine
scepticism.
In poorer regions, trust levels tend to be much higher, with 95% in
South Asia and 92% in Eastern Africa feeling confident that vaccines
are safe and effective.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; editing by John Stonestreet)
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