In the United Kingdom, misinformation has led to a reversal of measles elimination and a renewed surge in cases.1 In the US, the measles outbreak in 2025 was accompanied by extreme narratives, while health institutions intervened too late and hesitantly.2 These are just a few examples of anti-vaccination sentiment that can be observed in many countries. Hereby, vaccine hesitancy refers to the deliberate rejection of vaccinations despite the availability of safe and effective vaccines.
Institutional failure in educating about the fundamental role of vaccinations in public health, as well as the dissemination of misinformation by public bodies, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Q1 2026, leads to loss of trust. These distortions amplify risk perceptions and fuel doubts about vaccine safety, despite preventing millions of premature deaths annually.
The consequences: Declining vaccination rates increase the risk of outbreaks of infectious diseases. This trend is already reflected in rising measles cases (35,212 measles cases in the EU in 2024) across several countries (e.g. 3,681 cases in the UK, 265 cases in Japan, 12,135 cases in India).
Many parents make a conscious decision not to vaccinate their children, even though children without full vaccination coverage are particularly at risk. A lack of trust in medical institutions leads parents to refuse vaccinations.4 As a result, vaccine hesitancy becomes a real health threat. It jeopardizes herd immunity and facilitates the resurgence of preventable infectious diseases.
Sources
- Corrêa, Gustavo; How misinformation is fuelling the current measles crisis; January 2024; in: Gavi
- Ajaykumar, Shravishtha; The Dangers of Politicizing Medicial Misinformation: The US Measle Outbreak; in: Observer Researcher Foundation (May 2025)
- Yang, Y. Tony; The perils of RFK Junior's anti-vaccine leadership for public health; in: The Lancet 405:10473 (2025); https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02603-5/fulltext
- Roozenbeek, Thom et al; Trust in institutions and misinformation susceptibility both independently explain vaccine skepticism; in: Scientific Reports 15:37655 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21452-1
