Financial Times: Falling vaccination rates pose a global health risk
Editorial Board

“…The health implications [of ‘anti-vax’ skepticism] are profound. Anti-vaccination campaigns defy decades of evidence of the indisputable global benefits of immunization. … Some fall in vaccination rates is a consequence of the effectiveness of immunization. As diseases are eliminated, the risk of the disease falls to the point where even mild side effects become more serious than the infection itself. This can lead to a fall in coverage — and the disease re-emerging. … If future generations are to be spared the scourges of their ancestors, public health officials, scientists, and doctors must sharpen communications. They need to learn to navigate the awkward terrain of social media, to engage with critics, and give more weight to credible scientific evidence. Public health urgently needs better defenses; the common good needs better advocates” (12/28).