Authorities must overcome vaccine hesitancy and win the public's trust. Recent research into New Zealanders' attitudes to vaccination suggest positions have become more polarised over the past decade, with 60 per cent identifying as "vaccine believers" and 30 per cent as "vaccine sceptics". It includes the right to information and the state's obligation to educate the public about community health issues. Anecdotes and unsubstantiated claims about the dangers of vaccination fuel vaccine hesitancy. Public information campaigns should perhaps counter this with scientifically substantiated statistics and real-life stories that build confidence in vaccination.

Source: New Zealand Herald December 07, 2020 22:30 UTC