THE AWARENESS

LEVEL ON THE
BENEFITS,
DANGERS AND
PREJUDICES OF
VACCINATION

CHAPTER I
 INTRODUCTION
Unlike most drugs whose benefit is restricted to the individual who takes the drug,
prophylactic vaccines have the potential for far-reaching effects that encompass health
service utilization, general health and well-being, cognitive development and economic
productivity. Immunization has been controversial, since its introduction, with opponents
claiming it was not natural or contaminating. Despite this, immunization has become one
of the most far-reaching and triumphant of all health interventions.
Andre et al. (2008) stated that infectious diseases still account for a large portion of
deaths, highlighting health inequalities largely cause by economic differences in low-
income countries. Vaccination can cut health care costs and reduce these inequities.
Vaccination can become a major solver in controlling different type of diseases,
elimination or eradication can save billions for communities and countries. Vaccination
helps economic growth everywhere because of lower morbidity and mortality. The
calculated investment annual return is between 12% and 18%. Long healthy lives are now
acknowledge as a prerequisite for wealth.
Despite its effectiveness in human health, there are also associated risks of vaccines.
Pain, swelling and redness at the injection site are common local reactions following
immunization. Sterile abscesses occasionally occur after the injection of inactivated
vaccines. Fever and irritability are also common systemic reactions that maybe attended by
giving acetaminophen.
Yet, Louise et al. (2015) stated that based on the data they have gathered, almost six
million children died globally before the age of five. Half of the number have died from
preventable diseases. Nevertheless, some parents do not want their children to vaccinate
although vaccines reduce morbidity and mortality. One of their prejudices about
vaccination is that their child might be susceptible in having autism. Also, some parents do
believe that their children doesn’t need to be vaccinated because for over the years they
haven’t seen or hears any cases of diseases that their children have been vaccinated from.
Vaccines have contributed enormous amount of help in the human race yet there are still
dangers associated with it as well as several prejudices about this medical intervention
though vaccines have saved more lives than antibiotics and surgeries.
This paper aims to determine the awareness level of students as well as the parents about
the benefits and dangers of vaccination together with determining their prejudices about it.
This will enlighten their minds and help them be equipped with correct and precise
knowledge about what really is vaccination.
 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This paper aims to find out the awareness level on the benefits, dangers and prejudices of
vaccination. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:
 What are the benefits of vaccination?
 What are the dangers associated with vaccination?
  What are the prejudices affiliated with vaccination?
 What is the level of awareness of the students and the parents regarding
vaccination?
 Is there a relationship between their awareness level and their prejudices about it?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This research focuses on the awareness level of grade 11 STEM students as well as some of the
parents in Sampaguita about the benefits, dangers and prejudices about vaccination. Sampaguita
National High School and in Sampaguita Solana Cagayan is where the research going to take
place. School year 2019-2020.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The generalization of this study would be a great contribution to the substantial knowledge in
relation to the awareness level of the students and parents about vaccination. Essential results of
this investigation could be highly significant and beneficial specifically to the following:
PARENTS

-this study will help them have enough knowledge about the benefits given by vaccines and its
risks and most especially correct their misconceptions about it.

STUDENTS

-this study will provide correct and precise information about what really is vaccination and will
supplement information that they seems to lack about.

SCHOOL NURSE

-this study will give the school nurse first-hand information about the awareness level of the
students about vaccination as well as the parents so it’ll eventually give him/her an idea to
conduct a symposium regarding vaccination with the approval of course of the school admin.

SCHOOL ADMIN

-through this study, with the help of the nurse in-charge he/she would be able to help in
correcting the prejudices of the students and the parents about vaccination and help them
understand why vaccines are essential in helping the humans immune system by using this study
as a basis of information.

MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

-the data that we have gathered about benefits and risks might help them figure out something
most especially on the prejudices part wherein maybe the data we have gathered have increased
so basically these healthcare professionals will eventually do something to know why there is a
sudden rise on the variables we have presented.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS

-this study will help them in making their own research paper and will guide them. The
information as well as the data we have gathered might contribute something to the success of
their research.
 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Smith, L et al. (2017). A systematic review of factors affecting vaccine uptake in young
children. Vaccine, 35(45), 6059-6069.

Multiple beliefs and perceptions surrounds parents decision whether to vaccinate their child or
not, that crucial decision is being made by the parents most of the time. If uptake or routine child
vaccination is to increase then the evidences regarding vaccine uptake will alarm the public
health professionals.

Smith et al. (2017) investigated systematically the psychological, social and contextual factors
associated with uptake of routine vaccines in children. Studies included if they reported the
analysis pf the connection between psychological factors and uptake or added parents self-
reported reasons for or opposition to vaccination.
 In the study made by Smith et al. (2017), results have shown that there is a strong evidence
between vaccination uptake and; not knowing vaccines to cause harmful effects; general positive
attitudes towards vaccination; positive vaccine recommendations; and knowing fewer practical
difficulties of vaccination. However, there was a good evidence for an affiliation between
perceived severity of an illness and vaccination was weak. Knowledge about the vaccine, social
influences and trust in the healthcare profession are the other factors associated with vaccination.
Being equipped with enough knowledge about vaccination is very important yet the influence of
different sources of information needs more research.

In addition, knowing and understanding the factors which consistently affecting the parents
decision to vaccinate their child is important in order to identify messages, which the public
health communications about routine child vaccination should be considering.

Doherty, M et al. (2016). Vaccine impact: Benefits for human health. Vaccine, 34(52), 6707-
6714.

As Doherty et al. (2016) have stated, different from most drugs whose benefit is confined to
the individual who takes the drug, prophylactic vaccines have the potential for wide ranging
effects that enclose health service utilization, general health and well-being, cognitive
development and ultimately, economic productivity. The impact of immunization are measured
by evaluating effects directly on the vaccinated individual, indirectly on unvaccinated
community (herd community), the epidemiology of the pathogen (such as changing circulating
serotypes or prevention pf outbreak cycles) and the additional benefits arising from improved
health. Aside from the protection of the individual, the extensive triumphant of immunization is
dependent on achieving a level of coverage adequate to interrupt transmission pf the pathogen. In
evaluating the cost effectiveness of vaccines, all these potential benefits needs to be accounted
for.

Furthermore, in most countries where immunization programs have been highly successful,
the control of disease has meant that the benefits of immunization has become less obvious.
Once a well-known and fearsome disease appears to have vanished, individuals including
healthcare professionals, no longer view ongoing prevention with the same sense of urgency.
Reduced coverage is inescapably affiliated with revival in disease, with epidemics potentially
leading to unforgettable morbidity and loss of life. Making sure of the continued success of
immunization programs is the responsibility of everyone: individuals, healthcare professionals,
government and industry.

Larson, H et al. (2014). Understanding vaccine hesitancy around vaccines and vaccination
from a global perspective: A systematic review of published literature, 2007-2012. Vaccine, 32
(19), 2105-2012.
 Vaccine hesitancy have become one of the leading term and literature and discourse on
vaccine decision making and determinants of vaccine acceptance. It recognizes a continuum
between the domains of vaccine acceptance and vaccine refusal and depolarizes former
characterization of individuals and groups as either anti-vaccine or pro-vaccine.

In connection, the primary aims of this systematic review are to the following; 1) Identify
research on vaccine hesitancy; 2) Identify determinants of vaccine hesitancy in different settings
including its context-specific causes, its expression and its impact; and 3) Inform the
development of a model for assessing determinants of vaccine hesitancy in different settings as
pronounced by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts Working Group (SAGE WG) for
dealing with vaccine hesitancy.

In the study made by Larson et al. (2014), a broad search strategy, created to capture multiple
dimensions of public trust, confidence and hesitancy around vaccines, were utilize across
multiple databases. As well as, peer-reviewed studies were select for inclusion if they focused on
childhood vaccines (≤ 7 years of age), used multivariate analyses, and were publish between
January 2007 and November 2012.

The result of the study have shown variety of factors affiliated with vaccine hesitancy but they
did not allow for a complete classification and confirmation of their independent and relative
strength of influence. Determinants of vaccine hesitancy are complex and context-specific—
varying across time, place, and vaccines.

Song

Bondy, J et al. (2009). Identifying the determinants of childhood immunization in the

Philippines. Vaccine, 27(1), 169-175.

According to Bondy et al. (2009), childhood immunization is a fundamental method in

reducing morbidity and mortality yet only 69% of Filipino children in 2003 received all required
vaccinations, the data that came from the 2003 Philippines Demographic Health Survey was
utilize to determine the risk factors for non-and partial immunization. The results of the
multinomial logistic regression analysis stated that mothers who have less education and who
have not attended minimally-recommended four antenatal visits are less likely to have fully
immunized children. In order to increase immunization coverage in the Philippines, knowledge
transfer to mothers must improve.

Ching, P et al. (2016). Investigation of measles outbreak in Cordillera, Northern Philippines,

2013. Western Pacific Surveillance and Response Journal: WPSR, 7(3).
 One of the leading causes of death among children worldwide , a highly infectious viral
illness which is known as measles, have led to measles outbreak in the Philippines after its
decrease in routine vaccination coverage from 2017 to 2011. A team investigated a measles
outbreak reported in Cordillera of the Philippines in May 2013.

The case data of measles with symptom onset February 2 to May 2013 were obtain from
official sources and verified on site. Age, sex, residential address, signs, symptoms and
vaccination status were included in the data. Active case findings were finish for contacts of
these cases. The living environments were also included in the investigation while a survey with
the cases and caregivers to understand their knowledge and attitudes about measles.

Based on the study conducted by Ching et al. (2016), results have shown that there were 50
measles cases identified with an age range from six months to 32 years(median: 16 years).
Thirty-two were male (64%). Twenty (40%) were hospitalized with one death. Thirty-two (64%)
cases were laboratory confirmed, and thirty-six (72%) received a single dose of measles vaccine.
Most of the cases observed are from crowded living environments (46/48, 98%) knew about
measles, but there were prejudices about the cause of measles and how it can be prevented and
managed.

Overall, the measles outbreak occurred in an area with low immunization coverage. In order
to achieve 95% measles immunization coverage and strengthening routine immunization
strategies to address high-risk populations are the suggestions. Researchers recommends health
education campaigns to include components that address prejudices about measles.

Larson, H et al. (2019). Vaccine confidence plummets in the Philippines following dengue
vaccine scare: why it matters to pandemic preparedness. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapy,
15(3), 625-627.

Month of November year 2017, it was announced that the new dengue vaccine (“Dengvaxia”)
had risked for those who are not previously exposed to dengue. On the other hand, some
countries continued with adjusting guidance accordingly, the Philippines reacted with outraged
and political turmoil with naming and shaming on government officials associated in purchasing
the vaccine, as well as the scientists involved in the vaccine trials and assessment. This resulted
into broken public trust around the dengue vaccine as well as heightened anxiety around vaccines
in general.

The Vaccine Confidence Project measured the impact of this crisis, differentiating the level of
confidence levels in 2015, before the incident, with levels in 2018. The findings reflect a big
drop in vaccine confidence from 93% “strongly agreeing” that vaccines are important in 2015 to
32% in 2018. There was also a drop in confidence in those strongly agreeing that vaccines are
safe from 82% in 2015 to only 21% in 2018; similarly confidence in the effectiveness dropped
from 82% to 22%. This article highlights the importance of routinely identifying laps or
breakdowns in public confidence in order to rebuild trust, before pandemic threat, when societal
and political cooperation will be the key to effective response.