Analysis
Two videos with 150,000 combined views feature a mother claiming that her children were vaccinated without her consent. The posts received hundreds of replies about vaccine side effects, such as fever and soreness, with some commenters explaining that these are normal vaccine reactions. The video does not contain any false claims, but the response indicates that some parents are concerned that side effects mean vaccines are unsafe.
Recommendations
Responding with empathy and acknowledging parents’ concerns about child vaccination is recommended, as is informing parents about the mild and short-term side effects they can expect after vaccination. Health communicators may emphasize that polio vaccines are safety tested multiple times before they are given to children and that children are at great risk of harm from vaccine-preventable diseases, not from vaccines.