The World Health Organization has listed the anti-vax movement to its list of 10 threats to global health in 2019.
According to the WHO, “vaccine hesitancy,” or the reluctance or refusal to get vaccinated despite the availability, threatens to undo the progress made in taking on vaccine-preventable diseases.
8⃣Vaccines prevent up to 3 MILLION deaths a year but they are still not reaching everyone who needs them. Deliberately not vaccinating kids undermines their health and those around them. 👉 https://t.co/uXXOvh1U67 #VaccinesWork pic.twitter.com/ridNVH1Aqu
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 16, 2019
The organization reports that measles, a vaccine-preventable disease, saw a 30 percent increase in cases globally. While the exact reason behind the increase is unclear and not all of the cases were due to vaccine hesitancy, the WHO said some countries who were close to seeing the disease eradicated saw a resurgence.
Officials said the reasons that people decide not to vaccinate range, but some explanations include complacency, inconvenience in accessing vaccines and lack of confidence in the practice.
Other health threats the WHO listed include climate change and air pollution, diseases such as cancer, heart diseases and diabetes, and weak primary health care.
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