Vaccine prophylaxis and its opponents in the modern world

Abstract

Vaccination is one of the essential areas of preventive medicine for protecting the population from diseases and infections. They have helped reduce the incidence of severe childhood diseases and, in some cases, have even eradicated some of the world’s infectious diseases. However, since the first available vaccine against smallpox, antivaccine prophylaxis has always accompanied an antivaccine movement based on various myths. More recently, the development of this movement is connected for many reasons. First of all, it is associated with forgetting the world’s population of the severity of many infectious diseases, the consequences of epidemics, and the availability of any information on the Internet. Leading to myths, parents refuse to vaccinate their children, resulting in reduced vaccination coverage, reduced collective immunity and outbreaks of diseases that have already been considered conquered. The article reviews the literature on the results of anti-vaccination research conducted in the Russian Federation and abroad concerning the causes, main postulates of this movement, trends and directions. Scientific evidence is presented that disproves anti-vaccination myths, and the primary arguments for vaccination are presented. The article describes the anti-vaccination movement’s worldwide trend and the Russian features. The position of WHO is presented about overcoming barriers to the adoption and use of vaccines.