We don’t have a vaccine hesitancy problem. We have a disinformation problem.
As we mark World Immunization Week, it’s time to shift the narrative. Vaccine hesitancy has dominated headlines—but it’s disinformation, not doubt, that poses the greatest threat to global health. This isn’t a crisis of confidence; it’s a crisis of trust, and a deliberate effort to erode it.
Hesitancy is not the issue. Parents should ask questions. People should seek medical advice to make the best possible choices for themselves and their children. That’s not something to fear—it’s something to support. Trust in vaccines is built through open conversations with trusted providers, credible information, and strong healthcare systems. With these supports, most hesitant parents do go on to vaccinate their children.
The real threat isn’t hesitation—it’s disinformation.
Misinformation about vaccines has always existed, but today, disinformation—falsehoods deliberately spread to sow doubt and fear—moves faster than ever. It doesn’t respect borders. What starts as an unverified claim on social media in the U.S. quickly spreads to communities across Africa, Asia, and beyond, undermining decades of progress in immunization.
The destruction of USAID, a key player in global health and development, only further weakens the fight against vaccine disinformation—dismantling critical programs that support immunization efforts while bad actors fill the void with fear and falsehoods.
We are now seeing the tragic consequences of this in real time. Just last month, a child in Texas died from measles—something that should be unthinkable in 2025. And yet, with anti-vaccine rhetoric now echoing from the highest levels of government, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the crisis is only worsening. And let’s be honest: this isn’t accidental.
Vaccine disinformation isn’t just a public health threat—it’s a political tool.
Some bad actors push anti-vaccine narratives for profit—using fear to sell fake cures and alternative health ideologies. Others do so to erode trust in institutions. We need to recognize disinformation for what it is: a deliberate tool for political division and destabilization.
Vaccine confidence is not just about trust in science; it’s about combating a well-funded, highly coordinated disinformation machine. And while global health leaders, ministries, and frontline workers continue to do the hard work of protecting communities, they are being undermined by viral falsehoods that spread faster than the very diseases we are trying to prevent.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. The global immunization community has fought too hard to let disinformation undo progress. We need stronger policies to curb the spread of falsehoods online, better education to equip people with the tools to recognize misinformation, and above all, a collective refusal to cede ground to those who profit—politically or financially—from spreading fear.
As we mark World Immunization Week, let’s recommit to fighting back against disinformation. We need to call out political figures who use vaccines as a wedge issue; re-empower health institutions like the CDC and WHO; fully fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and strengthen vaccine confidence to ensure that every child, everywhere, has access to life-saving immunizations.
Vaccines don’t just work. They save lives. They build futures. They cause adults.
#VaccinesWork #HumanlyPossible #WorldImmunizationWeek
