Vaccine hesitancy: understanding it better, to provide better support

摘要

A proportion of the French population mistrusts vaccines. Some people are hesitant without categorically refusing or routinely accepting all vaccinations. The process through which people make decisions about vaccines is multifactorial and often influenced more by personal opinions and experiences or those of peers than by scientific data. Vaccine controversies and public health "scandals" have contributed to vaccine hesitancy within the population. Health authorities' handling of crises involving vaccines or other drugs, and suspicions over links with the pharmaceutical industry, have also undermined vaccine adherence in a section of the population. Healthcare professionals are patients' preferred source of information about vaccines. They play a pivotal role in their patients' trust or mistrust of vaccines.