Immunization and media coverage in Italy: an eleven-year analysis (2007-17)

Abstract

Immunization polices in Italy has recently reached important milestones, including the approval of the National Immunization Prevention Plan and of a new law mandatory immunization; this stimulating a lively debate at the scientific, political and societal-level, reflected on the media. We applied a model previously published to quantitatively and qualitatively assess media coverage on vaccines and immunization-related topics on the most read Italian newspaper, "Corriere della Sera", over an 11-year study period (2007-2017). We retrieved relevant key words and articles, reported on included articles' topic, position, approach to immunization and on other selected indicators' summary statistics, temporal trends and correspondence with key epidemiological and policy events. Over the study period the quote "vaccin*" was mentioned on average 325 times per year; with an increase of 150% after the approval of the new law on mandatory immunization in 2017. In the same year, on average, two first-page articles per week were published on the topic. We report a clear association between key events (i.e the H1N1 influenza pandemic, the "Fluad case", the approval of the new law on mandatory immunization) and their media coverage. Overall, 84% of articles had a positive attitude towards immunization, this share decreasing to 79% when only considering articles published after the approval of the law on mandatory vaccination. Media play a crucial role in channelling health-related information and significantly influence health behaviours. We urge public institutions, health authorities and the scientific community not to underestimate the opportunity to monitor media coverage on key healthcare topics and to convey evidence-based health education messages through the media.

The Impact of Mandatory Vaccination Law in Italy on MMR Coverage Rates in Two of the Largest Italian Regions (Emilia-Romagna and Sicily): An Effective Strategy to Contrast Vaccine Hesitancy

“…In particular, in Italy, the coverage rates have been decreasing since 2012 [26][27][28]. One of the possible causes of this steep decrease can be found in the Rimini Court sentence of 15 March 2012 [19].…”

“…Notably, the Rimini Court sentence of 2012 was pronounced in Romagna and the first of two suspected deaths within 48 hours of the "Fluad ® " vaccine administration in 2014, that opened investigations by the Judiciary, occurred in Western Sicily [33,34]. The reversal of the Rimini Court sentence by the Bologna Appeal Court in 2015 [21], along with an unexpected meningitis epidemic outbreak spread in the Tuscany region (which is next to RER and which had important media coverage throughout Italy) in the same years probably had an incremental impact on general vaccine coverage trends in hesitant parents [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”

Embedding the delivery of antenatal vaccination within routine antenatal care: a key opportunity to improve uptake

“…A number of studies have indicated that there may be a mixed response from midwives and obstetricians as to whether this approach is desirable and feasible, and whether they feel adequately trained and prepared (on both an individual and institutional level). 20,30,[32][33][34][35][36][37] Whilst most would agree that vaccination is important and should be promoted opportunistically, individual barriers to administering vaccination themselves include perceived lack of knowledge/confidence in discussing the risks and benefits of vaccination with pregnant women (particularly amongst midwives), and a lack of formal training in vaccinationhighlighting the need for further education targeted at areas of particular need. 30,32,33 There also remains a significant amount of uncertainty about who should bear responsibility for the recommendation and administration of vaccination amongst maternity staff.…”

“…29 Furthermore, there are an increasing number of areas in the UK where successful initiatives have been set up (locally commissioned by National Health Service [NHS] midwifery services), many of which offer vaccination at the same time as the 20-week fetal anomaly scan visit. 30,31 A dedicated midwife-led vaccine clinic has recently been set up at our own institution, offering vaccination appointments (either booked in advance or undertaken opportunistically) alongside routine antenatal visits. Formal feedback about this service from pregnant women and maternity HCPs (collected prospectively via an anonymous survey administered from October to November 2018) has been encouraging.…”

There’s Much Yet to be Done: Diverse Perspectives on HPV Vaccination

“…[7][8][9][10] Unwarranted fears about HPV vaccine and the proliferation of misinformation, particularly via social media, have proven to be significant and widespread obstacles to achieving and maintaining high vaccination rates. 11,12 This special issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics brings together a number of timely articles covering several topic areas related to HPV vaccination. Included among these are papers focused on: social media and the Internet; vaccination policy; interventions to improve vaccination rates; new domains related to HPV vaccine knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; alternative settings for vaccine delivery; HPV prevalence, incidence, and type distribution among specific populations; HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers (OPC), vaccine characteristics; and cost-effectiveness modeling.…”