Vaccine hesitancy is known as either refusing or delaying acceptance of an available vaccine. According to The Lancet, vaccine hesitancy has been an issue in over 90% of nations. Even in areas with readily-available vaccines, herd immunity for diseases such as measles has decreased in the last few years because of a decrease in infant vaccination. While measles was previously eradicated in the United States, there has been a global increase in measles incidences by 30%. In the US, certain areas made up of specific religious or cultural groups play a large role in this decrease. For example, only 60% of Orthodox Jews in New York had received the MMR vaccine in 2017. Religious and cultural reasons may account for many people’s hesitancy.
Other reasons for hesitation may be due to lack of education on both the physician and patients’ sides. The Lancet article claimed that physician advice plays…
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