Abstract
BackgroundAlthough interruption of endemic measles was achieved in the Americas in 2002, Quebec experienced an outbreak in 2011 of 776 reported cases; 80% of these individuals had not been fully vaccinated. We analyzed readers’ online responses to Canadian news articles regarding the outbreak to better understand public perceptions of measles and vaccination.MethodsWe searched Canadian online English and French news sites for articles posted between April 2011 and March 2012 containing the words “measles” and “Quebec”. We included articles that i) concerned the outbreak or related vaccination strategies; and ii) generated at least ten comments. Two English and two bilingual researchers coded the unedited comments, categorizing codes to allow themes to emerge.ResultsWe analyzed 448 comments from 188 individuals, in response to three French articles and six English articles; 112 individuals expressed positive perceptions of measles vaccination (2.2 comments/person), 38 were negative (4.2 comments/person), 11 had mixed feelings (1.5 comments/person), and 27 expressed no opinion (1.1 comments/person). Vaccine-supportive themes involved the success of vaccination in preventing disease spread, societal responsibility to vaccinate for herd immunity, and refutation of the autism link. Those against measles vaccination felt it was a personal rather than societal choice, and conveyed a distrust of vaccine manufacturers, believing that measles infection is not only safe but safer than vaccination. Commenters with mixed feelings expressed uncertainty of the infection’s severity, and varied in support of all vaccines based on perceived risk/benefit ratios.ConclusionThe anti-vaccine minority’s volume of comments translates to a disproportionately high representation on online boards. Public health messages should address concerns by emphasizing that immunization is always a personal choice in Canada, and that the pharmaceutical industry is strictly controlled. Illustrating the dangers of measles through personal stories, rather than scientific data only, may also serve to strengthen messaging.
Highlights
Online media discussion forums are an additional source of data to gauge public perceptions of news events, as they allow readers to provide thoughts about news articles in an anonymous environment
The CTV news article generated 17 comments from 17 different individuals, while the October 27th, 2011 article on the Radio-Canada site led to an average of 5.8 comments/person
One referred to statistics to strengthen their point, one identified themself as a healthcare professional, and three described personal experiences with vaccination or related adverse events. Those with mixed feelings towards measles vaccines expressed uncertainty about the infection’s severity, and varied in support of all vaccines based on perceived risk/benefit ratios
Summary
Measles is an extremely contagious respiratory disease characterized by a fever and maculopapular rash. [1] The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that in 2010 there were 139,300 measles deaths globally. [1] In 2002, the Americas had successfully eliminated measles transmission by implementing a vaccination strategy that included a second dose of the vaccine to ensure high population immunity. [2] Since only small numbers of imported and import-related measles cases have been reported in Canada; outbreaks occurred mainly in isolated groups with limited secondary transmission in the general population. [3] in April 2011, the Canadian province of Quebec (population of 7.9 million in 2011) [4] experienced the largest measles outbreak in two decades, resulting in 776 reported cases, of which 80% had either not been vaccinated at all or had not received two doses of vaccine. [5] As a result, Quebec launched a school-based measles vaccination program for students and staff who were neither fully vaccinated nor naturally immune due to previous infection. [3] in April 2011, the Canadian province of Quebec (population of 7.9 million in 2011) [4] experienced the largest measles outbreak in two decades, resulting in 776 reported cases, of which 80% had either not been vaccinated at all or had not received two doses of vaccine. Researchers have been utilizing data collected from social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to analyze public perceptions of infectious disease outbreaks.[6–10]. These online outlets provide a vast amount of real-time data which can be rapidly compiled and analyzed to understand current common opinions about vaccines. We analyzed readers’ online responses to Canadian news articles regarding the outbreak to better understand public perceptions of measles and vaccination
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