By Haley Tenore

We live in an era where misinformation can spread like wildfire. Misinformation about vaccines is no exception.

VCU Medical Center’s Health and Wellness Library invited experts from the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and ImmunizeVA, an initiative led by the Institute for Public Health Innovation, to dispel vaccine myths and promote immunization awareness. The event, Understanding Vaccines with ImmunizeVA, was held in recognition of Health Literacy Month.

“This program is important because we are providing people with reliable information about vaccines so they can make informed decisions about their health,” said Dana Ladd, VCU Health and Wellness librarian. “We hope to share with people an understanding of the history of vaccines, how they work, vaccine safety, and vaccine-preventable diseases.”

The Institute for Public Health Innovation is one of the groups behind the event. It’s a regional public health institute that focuses on systems-level change to promote community health in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. and collaborates with local groups to educate communities about health-related topics.

ImmunizeVA was founded in 2020, building off the legacy of Project Immunize Virginia (PIV), a coalition active from 1995 to 2012. PIV played an instrumental role in developing public awareness campaigns and educational resources for parents and clinicians.

“Our vision is a future where the quality and length of life of Virginians are not impacted by a disease that could have been prevented by immunizations,” said Bel Kelly-Russo, the Institute for Public Health Innovation’s associate program manager. “Before vaccines became readily available, Virginia cities were ravaged by diseases like yellow fever and polio. As vaccines became available, state lawmakers in 1884 began passing regulations requiring students to get vaccinated to attend school.”

“Because we have vaccines, we are able to continuously kick these vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Terry Clark II, VDH’s Health Equity project manager. “With that being the case, it really only takes a couple of people unvaccinated to start an outbreak.”

The presenters also addressed reasons why people may not get vaccinated. They noted that people typically don’t get vaccines due to lack of access or being misinformed.

Some common vaccine myths, which presenters debunked, include:

• Vaccines cause autism. (While frequently researched, no studies have shown that vaccines cause autism spectrum disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A study frequently referenced for this myth was found to be fraudulent).
• The flu vaccine gives you the flu. (A new vaccine is made each year based on what viruses are expected to be prominent. The flu shot does not cause the flu, according to the CDC).

People today may also have what Denise Kesler Olson, chair of ImmunizedVA’s steering committee, described as “cultural amnesia.” Since high vaccination rates have created herd immunity across the nation, some people may forget how difficult it was to live during a time when deadly diseases ran rampant.

“My grandmother was one of 12 children. Only 10 of those children survived to adulthood, and that was considered to be a pretty good survival rate,” Kesler Olson said. “But by the time I was born, people had the expectation that all of their children were going to grow up to adulthood, and some of that's because of the huge reduction that we've had in infectious disease deaths.”

Kesler Olson’s passion for spreading awareness on immunizations started because of her son, who survived an illness that could have been prevented by vaccines. Kelser Olson said her son is the reason why she’s been an advocate for more than a decade and is the inspiration for why she’s “talking to people about vaccinations and trying to keep kids like him, who need that community immunity, safe.”

Kelly-Russo notes that stories like Kelser Olson’s are valuable to share with educational events like these.

“These perspectives help to provide evidence-based information in a way that connects meaningfully with others, and emphasizes the importance of health literacy so that everyone can make informed decisions about vaccinating themselves and their families,” Kelly-Russo said.

For anyone who missed the event, information about vaccines and other health care topics can be found at the Health and Wellness Library. The library is located inside the Gateway Building at VCU Medical Center. Information about vaccines can also be found on the VCU Libraries website.