Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 15;109(1):6-9.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0154. Print 2023 Jul 5.

Vaccine Refusal: A Major, Underestimated Obstacle for the Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative

Bernard Seytre  1
Affiliations

Vaccine Refusal: A Major, Underestimated Obstacle for the Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative

Bernard Seytre. Am J Trop Med Hyg. .

Abstract

In 1988, the WHO launched the Global Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative with the goal of eradication by 2000. Not only has this goal, which has been repeatedly postponed, still not been achieved, but while the wild polio virus is still endemic in two Asian countries, a new epidemic caused by a vaccine-derived virus is spreading and is now affecting numerous developing and industrialized countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition to biological explanations for the failure of eradication, vaccination refusal by communities in mainly two regions of Africa and Asia has prevented mass vaccination campaigns from achieving their immunization coverage targets. The way these campaigns have been deployed has contributed to mistrust and hostility. The negative reactions of some communities, expressed from the first vaccination campaigns, were belatedly considered, which gave time for rumors to flourish and settle permanently. This failure underscores the importance of taking into account, before any vaccination campaign begins, the "health culture" of target populations-meaning their representations of the vaccines and the health authorities that promote vaccination, as well as their knowledge, fears, and hopes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Polio eradication: A perspective from the UK.
    Simons H, Patel D. Simons H, et al. New Microbes New Infect. 2024 Sep 24;62:101490. doi: 10.1016/j.nmni.2024.101490. eCollection 2024 Dec. New Microbes New Infect. 2024. PMID: 39403552 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • The Drivers of Low Vaccination Utilization in Niger.
    Seytre B, Chaibou S, Simon B. Seytre B, et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024 Feb 13;110(3):529-533. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.23-0708. Print 2024 Mar 6. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2024. PMID: 38350141 Free PMC article.

References

    1. O’Leary A, 2022. Overcoming challenges en route to polio eradication. Lancet 400: 1191. - PubMed
    1. Chumakov K, Ehrenfeld E, Agol VI, Wimmer E, 2021. Polio eradication at the crossroads. Lancet Glob Health 9: e1172–e1175. - PubMed
    1. Aylward BR, Sutter RW, Cochi SL, Thompson KM, Jafari H, Heymann D, 2006. Risk management in a polio-free world. Risk Anal 26: 1441–1448. - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization , 2021. Number of Deaths among Children Under-Five. Available at: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/numbe.... Accessed October 19, 2022.
    1. Jegede AS, 2007. What led to the Nigerian boycott of the polio vaccination campaign? PLoS Med 4: e73. - PMC - PubMed

Substances