Pushing back against rising vaccine skepticism

Christopher Mazzolini

Go watch "Confronting the 2025 vaccine crisis: Expert physician panel discusses the way forward"

Vaccine hesitancy and downright skepticism are nothing new. But long simmering trends of anti-medicine sentiment and conspiracy-fueled resistance that once were on the fringe have reached the mainstream — and the halls of power in Washington, D.C.

What are physicians, who speak to vaccine skeptical parents and patients on a regular basis, trying to convince them of the importance of vaccination, supposed to do?

Just a few short years ago, the scientific establishment was marveling at the breakthroughs that enabled the speedy creation of amazingly effective COVID-19 vaccines, and new mRNA platforms that could be used for a host of vaccines, even for cancer.

All that promise feels like it's being lost. Public confidence in routine immunization is sliding just as fast as the science behind those shots is accelerating. Gallup’s July 2024 poll found only 40 percent of U.S. adults now say it is “extremely important” for parents to vaccinate their children, down from 58 percent in 2019 and 64 percent in 2001. CDC data show kindergarten exemptions climbed to 3.3 percent in the 2023‑24 school year — the highest rate ever recorded.

When measles resurfaces in more than two dozen states (resulting in the death of two children and one adult, all unvacinated) and childhood immunization rates keep sliding, something bigger than an outbreak is brewing. In some way vaccine skepticism and misinformation represents a crisis of confidence, one that has existed and grown on the fringes for decades but turbo‑charged by social media, and the anti-vaccine backlash in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then President Donald J. Trump was inaugurated and chose vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his HHS Secretary, public health officials and physicians were leery, to say the least. It's safe to say that as Trump and Kennedy's actions so far have not inspired confidence. Vaccine advisory committees have been delayed, public health data has been taken offline, decisions regarding human placebo trials for new vaccines were made, regulatory staffers were let go. On top of it all, Kennedy's public comments and decisions regarding measles, childhood vaccines and autism have alarmed many physicians, medical societies, former HHS agency leaders, and others.

For a few months I considered how my content teams should take on this new world of vaccines. What information did our physician audience need while on the front lines of awkward conversations with skeptical patients? I decided the best place to start was by kicking off the conversation — and bringing together some of medicine's leading voices to do it.

I'm proud to announce that Medical Economics and Infection Control Today premiered an exclusive video roundtable discussion with a powerhouse panel of physician experts that cuts through the noise of vaccine policy, patient skepticism and other worrying trends with some plain-spoken and sage advice for how each physician and health provider can choose to fight back. Our panelists cover all the bases: We have public health experts, vaccine policy luminaries, family physicians and pediatricians and the presidents of two integral medical societies.

Together, our panel deliver a candid, unscripted look at the collision between scientific progress and political headwinds, and how clinicians can keep patients protected when national messaging falters.

The entire discussion is skillfully moderated by Heather Stoltzfus, MPH, RN, CIC, a research nurse program manager at Johns Hopkins University Division of Infectious Diseases and a editorial adviser for our sister publication, Infection Control Today. Here's who we recruited to speak directly to our physician audience:

• Georges Benjamin, MD, FACP– Executive Director, American Public Health Association
• Jen Brull, MD, FAAFP– President, American Academy of Family Physicians
• William Schaffner, MD– Professor of Preventive Medicine & Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University
• Tina Q. Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP– President, Infectious Diseases Society of America
• Charles Vega, MD, FAAFP– Clinical Professor & Associate Dean, UC Irvine School of Medicine

I don't want to spoil the conversation here, so I'll leave you with some of the insights a few of our panelists shared, and urge you to go check out the video discussion:

“We’re in an era of eroding trust, increasing misinformation, and, tragically, poor national leadership.”

—Dr. Georges Benjamin sets the stage for why the traditional vaccine playbook is broken.

“Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.”

—Dr. Jen Brull reminds us that every exam‑room conversation matters.

“A vaccine in the refrigerator has never prevented a single case of infection.”

—Dr. William Schaffner delivers his trademark clarity on why access and delivery innovations must match scientific breakthroughs.

Chris Mazzolini is a content vice president at MJH Life Sciences, overseeing a roster of brands including Physicians Practice, Medical Economics and Pharmaceutical Executive.

Be sure to check out The Mazz Report on LinkedIn for more insight into the business of medicine.