Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
The Antivax Paradox
Social Media has been taking the world by storm for the last decade. It provides a platform for people to share every thought and feeling that passes through their mind and receive validation and feedback from friends and strangers alike. Throughout the years, there has been a shift in the spread of information from newspapers or word of mouth to social media, where millions of people can be reached at the click of a mouse. While the spread of information has allowed news stories to be shared faster than people of the 1900s could imagine and has sparked interest in many topics people otherwise may never have heard of, it has also allowed false information to be spread with no proof. While anyone who sees these false stories has access to thousands of sources which can prove their falsehood, many people take what they see at face value and others, who do choose to do the research, have a hard time overcoming the initial information which can lead to cognitive dissonance and confusion of information. No phenomenon captures this idea better than the spread of anti-vaccination myths which have plagued humanity nearly as long as the existence of vaccines. When social media became a widespread information exchange, many disgruntled parents used the various platforms to share their stories of deaths and injuries which they thought were caused by vaccines. These stories encouraged more and eventually discouraged the use of vaccines in many parents and families. The stories range from the MMR vaccine causing measles to the vaccines causing SIDS in infants. One thing, however, is common in all of the stories, the plead for the end of vaccination.
The Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR) is one of most combated against vaccines on social media. Beginning with a paper by Dr. Wakefield, the claim that the MMR vaccines, or chemicals used in the vaccine, cause autism in children spread like wildfire throughout the public. While this claim has been refuted, both by science and by law (Offit,
2011), it is still being spread by several thousand parents of children with autism who blame their child’s condition on the vaccination and attempt to stop other parents from administering the vaccines. Another issue surrounding the MMR vaccine is the concept of immune system

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019 overload, the theory that the immune system of an infant or young child is unable to handle the mix of antigens present in combined vaccines such as MMR. Finally, many parents are under the impression that the infections prevented against by vaccines no longer pose a threat to their children and that giving the vaccine poses a larger risk. All of these theories are prevalent in social media and are contributing to the anti-vaccine movement and low levels of immunization.
Autism
The MMR vaccine is one of the most controversial vaccines available today. The riot against the vaccine was most famously started by a study that was published in The Lancet, which showed a link between the MMR vaccine and the neurological disorder autism. While the was redacted and disproven many times, people still hold on to the theory that the MMR
Vaccine causes autism. This discourse is seen nowhere better than on social media where people against vaccines spread the anti-vaccine propaganda.
Figure 1
Dr. Serge. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/DrSergeTheNutritionScientist/photos/a.29977440
7381409/416925965666252/?type=3&theater.

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
Figure 1 shows a post made by Dr. Serge on a Facebook group called Vaccine
Information Network (VINE). In the post, Dr. Serge shows a graph of the prevalence of the MMR vaccine as well as the presence of Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis in the UK, Norway and
Sweden (Deisher et al. 2015). The graph in this figure is easy to take out of context and does not show a statistically significant difference in the rates of autism diagnosis with relation to the administration of the MMR vaccine. However, the author of the post cites the graph as proof that there is an undeniable link between the MMR vaccine and autism. He goes on to state the methods used in the test known as CDR (Challenge-Dechallenge-Rechallenge) where drugs are introduced to the system, then removed and allowed to “wash out” of the system before being introduced once more to study the side effects (Serge, 2019). This method in particular is simple to debunk as a basic understanding of vaccines allows one to know that it is not a medication that can be washed out of the body. Even in vaccines which require booster shots, immunity (and therefore the effect of the vaccine) begins to take place after the initial administration an cannot be removed from the body. Furthermore, the link between the MMR vaccine has been continuously disproven in scientific literature, with over ten times that amount of studies disputing the MMR-Autism link than supporting it (Masonneuve et al. 2012).
Figures such as this and others like it are being used to convince worried parents that the MMR vaccine causes autism and are being used to dissuade parents from vaccinating their children.
Immune overload

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
Figure 4
: Vaccine-induced immune overload now affects majority of US children, study finds. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/045351_vaccines_immune_overload_childrens_health.html?fbclid=IwAR3iqkb8ySu1m
8CR8mZ10Zdu6Bwoyemh2YFt4x_4VkMIRdIQ9P3tlbb9qPk#ixzz336JRHwz1 . Vi Team Wakefield Facebook Page
Another myth regarding vaccines which is highly propagated on social media is the concept of vaccine overload. Articles, such as the one presented in Figure 4, are being shared on anti-vaccine Facebook groups. Many parents, even those who understand the importance of vaccines, are led to believe that the number of vaccines, particularly combined vaccines which provide immunity to several diseases in one shot, routinely given to children can overload their immune system and cause them to become sick or make them more susceptible to infection.
Combined vaccines allow a child to be vaccinated against several disease-causing pathogens with one shot. The combined vaccine that has been receiving the most attention over the past few decades is the Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR). This vaccine, and others like it, has caused an uproar in the antivaxxer community about the perceived health risks associated with giving a child the once standard vaccine. One of the concerns parents have about the MMR vaccine is the ‘overload’ of the immune system brought on by the introduction of several antigens at once (Hilton et al. 2006). Parents worry that introducing a baby’s immune system to so many pathogens at once can increase the risk of the child contracting an infection.

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
They worry that the ‘vulnerable immune system’ of a baby in unable to handle the sudden influx of so many pathogens, which leads to the immune system being unable to create antibodies to all of the pathogens as fast as necessary and leads to the child being infected by the diseases they are supposed to be vaccinated against (Gregson et al 2003). This worry has led many parents to modify vaccine schedules or even forgo vaccines all together, which decreases herd immunity in a population.
The concept of immune overload concerning multi-antigen vaccines has been widely studied. The MMR vaccine is the most widely used multi-antigen vaccine and therefore gauges the largest response in those who are worried about the concept of overloading the immune system of a child and leaving them more susceptible to infections, both viral and bacterial, following the vaccination. While many parents are calling for the separation of these vaccines into single-antigen vaccines, many are also introducing modified vaccine scheduling to combat this immune overload (Miller et al. 2003).
There have been studies which examine the link between the administration of the
MMR vaccine and rates of infections in the 90 days following the vaccines, which would lead to the conclusion that there was a significant impact on the effectiveness of the immune system following the administration of the MMR vaccine. No change in the rate of infection was observed in children who received the MMR vaccine compared to those children who did not receive the multi-antigen vaccine, failing to accept the hypothesis that the multi-antigen vaccine caused any immunodeficiency based on the overload of the immune system (Stowe et al. 2009).
Measles isn’t so bad
Another tactic utilized on social media which has continued to the anti-vaccination argument is that the diseases that vaccines prevent against (in this case measles, mumps and rubella) are no longer a public health issue and the symptoms that are associated with these infections are less severe that the reaction to the vaccine.

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
Figure 2
Raymond, N. (2019, November 8). To vaccinate babies, 2 criteria must be met:Disease is common enough to catchIt is severe enough to threaten life or permanently harmWhat diseases fit these criteria?NOT ONE.Not anymore. No dangerous diseases are common.No common diseases are dangerous.A Tale of 2 Sides. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/epochchanger/status/1192609558394482688.
In this tweet by Neville Raymond, an anti-vaccination advocate, he implies that vaccines are given frivolously, that there is no disease that are both dangerous enough and common enough to warrant vaccination. This type of thinking can trigger omission bias in many parents who believe that doing nothing, i.e. not vaccinating their children, is less dangerous than taking action and vaccinating their children (Ritov et al. 1990). Many parents are under the impression that the disease which are most commonly vaccinated against are no longer a risk for their children. The fallacy with this argument is that these diseases are uncommon because of the popular use of vaccines. As the vaccine rate gets lower, herd immunity, the protection of the population against an infection, also gets lower. For example, the MMR vaccine has been given at a lower rate since the anti-vaccine resurgence in the 1990s, at the same time measles, a

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019 disease that was nearly eradicated in the United States has reached record highs in 2019
(Figure 3). And in opposition to the tweet by Neville Raymond, over 100 of those cases of measles requires hospitalization (Benecke et al. 2019). The rate of infection is only going to increase as the vaccination rate remains below the proficiency rate for herd immunity, meaning that if the vaccination rate continues to decrease, measles will become a disease that is both common and dangerous.
Figure 3
Measles Cases and Outbreaks. (2019, October 11). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/measles/casesoutbreaks.html.
Conclusion
Social Media, due to access and trust of peers, has a large impact on the beliefs and behavior of people who are exposed to it. This makes it the ideal platform for anti-vaccination advocates, who can make claims without being forced to present proper evidence supporting the claim. While the anti-vaccine movement was alive and well before the existence of popular

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019 social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, the platforms allow the advocates to reach over 100,000,000 million people with the click of a mouse. These posts strike concern and mistrust in parents who are responsible for vaccinating their children and lead to less children being vaccinated on a schedule recommended by the CDC (McNeil et al. 2019). In 2019,
Facebook began to moderate the anti-vaccination groups available to the public, requiring that people request entry to the pages. Additionally, when any vaccine related information is searched on the platform, Facebook provides a short message about the importance of vaccines and provides a link to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Figure 5). It is important that the social media platforms recognize the impact they have on the anti-vaccine movement and are taking a stand in the right direction. As the movement grows, it is important for parents to have access to real evidence, rather that the anecdotes provided on certain social media pages and can make the choices necessary to provide protection for their children and the population as a whole.
Figure 5
Search results: Vaccine Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=vaccine&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
References:
Benecke, O., & Deyoung, S. E. (2019). Anti-Vaccine Decision-Making and Measles Resurgence in the United
States. Global Pediatric Health, 6. doi: 10.1177/2333794x19862949
Deiser, T. A., Doan, N. V., & Koyama. (2015). Epidemiologic and Molecular Relationship Between Vaccine Manufacture and Autism Spectrum Disorder Prevalence. Issues Law Med.
Dr. Serge. (n.d.). Retrieved November 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/DrSergeTheNutritionScientist/photos/a.299774407381409/416925965666252/?type=
3&theater .
Gregson AL, Edelman R. Does antigenic overload exist? The role of multiple immunizations in infants. Immunology and
Allergy Clinics of North America. 2003;23(4):649–664. doi:10.1016/s0889-8561(03)00097-3
Hilton S, Petticrew M, Hunt K. ‘Combined vaccines are like a sudden onslaught to the bodys immune system’: Parental concerns about vaccine ‘overload’ and ‘immune-vulnerability.’ Vaccine. 2006;24(20):4321–4327. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2006.03.003
Maisonneuve, H. (2012). Wakefield's affair: 12 years of uncertainty whereas no link between autism and MMR vaccine has been proved. Elsevier Masson SAS.
McNeil DA, Mueller M, Macdonald S, Mcdonald S, Saini V, Kellner JD, Tough S. Maternal perceptions of childhood vaccination: explanations of reasons for and against vaccination. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1). doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6338-0
Measles Cases and Outbreaks. (2019, October 11). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/measles/casesoutbreaks.html
.
Miller E. Bacterial infections, immune overload, and MMR vaccine. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2003;88(3):222–
223. doi:10.1136/adc.88.3.222

Cierra Johnson
Social Media Paper
16 November 2019
Offit, P. A. (2015). Deadly choices: how the anti-vaccine movement threatens us all. New York: Basic Books, a member of the Persecus Book Group.
Raymond, N. (2019, November 8). To vaccinate babies, 2 criteria must be met:Disease is common enough to catchIt is severe enough to threaten life or permanently harmWhat diseases fit these criteria?NOT ONE.Not anymore. No dangerous diseases are common.No common diseases are dangerous.A Tale of 2 Sides. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/epochchanger/status/1192609558394482688.
Ritov, I., & Baron, J. (1990). Reluctance to vaccinate: Omission bias and ambiguity. Journal of Behavioral Decision
Making, 3(4), 263–277. doi: 10.1002/bdm.3960030404
Search results: Vaccine Retrieved from https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=vaccine&epa=SEARCH_BOX
Vaccine-induced immune overload now affects majority of US children, study finds. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/045351_vaccines_immune_overload_childrens_health.html?fbclid=IwAR3iqkb8ySu
1m8CR8mZ10Zdu6Bwoyemh2YFt4x_4VkMIRdIQ9P3tlbb9qPk#ixzz336JRHwz1 . Vi Team Wakefield Facebook Page