Philadelphia-area health experts see shift in attitudes on vaccination in ‘post-COVID’ era
WHYY
Vaccines became a hot button issue during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic — a polarizing point of contention between neighbors, family members and coworkers. And now, it appears that anti-vaccine sentiments have spilled over to all kinds of immunizations, including those required for kids to attend school.
“Some people came out of the COVID experience thinking like, ‘Thank God for vaccines, yay. I will stand on the barricades to make this happen for folks,’” said Alison Buttenheim, a professor of nursing and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. “And some people are the opposite.”
Buttenheim, the scientific director of CHIBE, studies how beliefs, misinformation, communication, state legislation and policy shape the way people perceive vaccines.