[ad_1]
Vaccines are often described as the silver bullets of health. Since the launch of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation in 1974, which introduced routine vaccines for preventable childhood diseases, millions of lives have been saved. Today, vaccines remain one of the most cost-effective and impactful public health interventions.
India’s Universal Immunisation Programme, introduced in 1978 and expanded in 1985, has been instrumental in reducing child mortality. Over time, it has broadened to include newer vaccines and improved versions of older ones. For India, vaccination is not just a health intervention but one of the most successful public policy achievements in improving child survival.
In contrast, vaccine debates in the West have taken a very different turn. In the US, Florida recently became the first state to try and end vaccine mandates for schoolchildren. At the federal level, vaccine advisory committees have undergone changes in leadership, including the appointment of sceptics, while Covid-19 vaccines have been removed from the recommended schedule for healthy children and pregnant women. Funding for mRNA vaccine research has also been scaled back. These shifts reflect how politicised vaccine policy has become.
Experts have long been concerned about this trend, and surveys now confirm that public confidence in vaccines has declined sharply since the pandemic. As Dr Heidi Larson of the Vaccine Confidence Project notes, vaccine confidence declined in 90% of countries surveyed after the Covid-19 pandemic. Notably, the decline has been most pronounced in countries with robust healthcare systems, where concerns about safety have dominated public discourse.
This hesitation comes at a cost. Herd immunity, which protects the elderly, the immunocompromised and infants too young to be vaccinated, depends on widespread coverage. As uptake falls, old diseases are reappearing. Measles, once controlled, has resurged across multiple regions, with the WHO warning of more than 300,000 cases globally in 2022. Tragically, many of these deaths occurred in unvaccinated children.
What makes this more troubling is that the roots of vaccine distrust often lie in misinformation. A damaging example came in 1998, when a study, later discredited and retracted, falsely claimed that the MMR vaccine caused autism. That claim ignited a global anti-vaccine movement whose impact is still felt today.
Newer vaccines also face resistance. The HPV vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer, has been caught up in controversy for years. Safety concerns have been exaggerated despite clear scientific evidence, and misplaced moral arguments that the vaccine might encourage sexual activity in young girls have hindered adoption in several countries. In India, the rollout was slowed by early controversies around demonstration projects. Although later reviews found no causal link between the reported deaths and the vaccine, the episode fuelled mistrust and raised questions about ethics and consent. Yet the need is undeniable: India accounts for nearly one in five of the world’s cervical cancer cases.
Covid-19 added another layer of doubt. Even in India, where vaccine acceptance is generally high, the rapid rollout raised anxieties about safety and side effects. This echoed the resistance India faced during its polio campaign, when rumours spread that the vaccine was linked to birth control. Yet India overcame these fears through a massive communication drive that mobilised health workers, community leaders, and celebrities, ultimately helping the country eradicate polio. That campaign showed that vaccine hesitancy, however entrenched, can be reversed.
Despite these challenges, India continues to enjoy high levels of vaccine trust. A 2022 survey by the Vaccine Confidence Project found that 97% of Indians believe vaccines are safe, 97% view them as effective, and 98% consider childhood vaccination important. This confidence is rooted in the credibility of frontline workers—Ashas and ANMs, and local doctors —who act as trusted messengers for families.
Immunisation coverage has steadily improved, rising from 62% in 2015–16 to 76.4% in 2019–20. Where coverage lags, the reasons are usually practical, such as distance to health centres, the affordability of non-UIP vaccines like HPV or flu shots, or a lack of information, rather than ideological opposition.
Ironically, vaccines are sometimes victims of their own success. When diseases like tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis become so rare that people no longer see them, it creates a false sense of security and fuels complacency. But for India, where infectious diseases still pose a significant burden, vaccines remain an essential line of defence.
India’s role is not just national but global. With companies like Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech, the country supplies affordable vaccines to much of the developing world and was a central pillar of the COVAX initiative during the Covid-19 pandemic. This pharmacy of the world status reinforces India’s credibility at home and abroad, positioning the country as both a beneficiary and a leader in vaccine equity.
Public health discourse in India continues to see vaccines as a cornerstone of prevention. While scepticism occasionally arises around newer vaccines, the traditional childhood vaccines under the national programme enjoy widespread acceptance. This is a public trust dividend that India cannot afford to squander.
But sustaining that trust will require constant vigilance. The HPV vaccine’s slow uptake and the doubts that surfaced during the Covid-19 rollout show how quickly uncertainty can spread if left unaddressed. Once trust erodes, it takes years to rebuild. Misinformation moves faster than science, and the front line of that battle today is social media. Social media platforms have often amplified rumours, from fertility myths about polio to false claims about Covid side effects. India must invest in digital fact-checking, proactive myth-busting campaigns, and partnerships with trusted medical and community voices who can speak directly to people where they get their information.
India has shown before that it can win the communication battle. The polio eradication campaign succeeded because it was not just about delivering vaccines, but also about building awareness and countering myths head-on. A similar approach will be needed as India considers including HPV and other vaccines in its national programme.
The responsibility now rests on a broad coalition of government systems, frontline health workers, scientists, civil society, international partners, and even social media platforms, working together to sustain trust and ensure vaccines continue to protect millions. In an age when misinformation spreads with a click, clear, transparent and relatable communication is as important as the vaccines themselves.
Vaccines have saved millions of lives in India and remain our strongest shield against infectious disease. In a country of over 1.4 billion people with limited health infrastructure, losing public trust in vaccines would be devastating. As the West grapples with hesitancy, India has an opportunity and a responsibility to protect its trust advantage and show the world what a strong and resilient immunisation system can achieve.
This article is authored by Swati Saxena, public health researcher and Suryaprabha Sadasivan, senior vice president, Chase Advisors.
[ad_2]
Source link
