Canadian officials and experts in public health have determined that scientific institutions in the United States cannot be relied upon for accurate information concerning vaccinations, according to The Guardian. The Centers for Disease Control removed the recommendation infants receive the hepatitis B vaccine and altered the website to state, “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism” under the direction of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dawn Bowdish is an immunologist and professor at McMaster University in Ontario and she asserts the move from public health leadership toward misinformation makes the vaccination distrust issue more difficult to combat. Marjorie Michel, Canada’s health minister agrees that health and science institutions in the U.S. cannot be trusted as reliable. Stating the CDC’s move toward misinformation and the concern some Canadians could be influenced by Kennedy.
This news comes as Canada continues to fight against measles after losing elimination status in November. Over 5,000 cases have been reported. There has been a drop in childhood vaccinations, limited access to family doctors, and a surge of misinformation in the pandemic aftermath contributing to the spread of measles.
In 2019 1.7 percent of Canadian two-year-olds had not been vaccinated. In 2021, that increased to 2.1 percent. Parents stated they refused the vaccines due to safety concerns or the the belief vaccines did not work. Bowdish believes parents refused to vaccinate their children due to lack of access to a doctor, not skepticism, however, she also asserts that misinformation has surged the last four years.
In December, a poll on vaccination hesitancy conducted and published by research firm Leger Healthcare found 74 percent of Canadians have confidence in vaccines and the increasing hesitancy is due to fears driven by social media and mistrust in the government. The poll also discovered 17 percent of those who are not confident in vaccines gain their information from websites run by the U.S. government.
By Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
The Guardian: Canadian officials say US health institutions no longer dependable for accurate information
Sudbury News: Health minister says Canada can’t rely on U.S. health institutions anymore
CIDRAP: After unprecedented autism-vaccine messaging change, scientists, advocates say CDC no longer trustworthy
Featured Image by Art Writ Courtesy of VCU Capital News Service’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
