2.22  The Media

There are many factors for lay people to consider before having their children immunised and they are not helped by the polarisation of the debate in the media. In the last ten years the Daily Telegraph has written 367 articles on the MMR vaccine of which 299 were in the last two years. They have written one article about the DPT vaccine and that was because a three month old baby was given the MMR vaccine instead of  DPT by mistake.

A survey by Economic and Social Research Council (2003) stated that the media play a key role in informing the way people understand issues such as the controversy around MMR.  The report shows that research regarding  the safety of something that is widely used should be approached with caution, both by scientists and journalists.  This is especially the case where any decline in confidence could have serious consequences for public health.