Original articleThe Role of Media and the Internet on Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting: A Case Study of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination
Section snippets
Data sources and procedures
Multiple data sources were included in our analysis, including the monthly total of adverse event reports from VAERS, the monthly total of print media reports from top-circulating U.S. newspapers, and the monthly frequency of Internet search activity as measured by Google Insights for Search beta. The public availability and de-identified nature of the data received from these sources did not necessitate institutional review.
The Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System is a post-marketing,
Summary of Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System and print media reports
In the initial 2.5 years post-FDA licensure, 1,220 MNQ- and 5,040 HPV4-associated adverse events reported to VAERS met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. The monthly mean number of HPV4-associated VAERS reports was 159.19 (standard deviation [SD], 92.55), which was significantly greater (t[60] = 6.96; p < .001) than MNQ-associated VAERS reports (mean, 18.77, SD, 28.34). In the 2.5 years after FDA licensure, we identified 582 and 249 unique news reports published in top circulating U.S.
Discussion
As hypothesized, there was a temporal association between the frequency of media reports and the frequency of VAERS reports for HPV4, whereas none was found for MNQ. During the initial 2.5 years after FDA licensure, the frequency of media reports related to MNQ remained stable and low. In contrast, for the HPV4 vaccine, there was an intense spike in media coverage during Month 9 after FDA licensure, followed by a period of decline in which the frequency of HPV4-related media reports remained
Funding Sources
There were no sources of funding, either direct or indirect, for this study.
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Sense & sensibility: Decision-making and sources of information in mothers who decline HPV vaccination of their adolescent daughters
2019, Vaccine: XCitation Excerpt :Laymen consistently testify that they trust health officers and authorities more than the media [19,44]; yet, positive mass media coverage increases the utilisation of specific health services, whereas negative coverage discourages the use of these services regardless of official recommendations [45]. Furthermore, an increase in media debates has been shown to result in a higher level of information seeking and a higher rate of reported side-effects [46]. Additionally, negatively toned posts on social media regarding vaccination are less likely to be scientifically funded than positively toned posts, enabling like-minded individuals to disseminate rather than debate ideas [47].
Bad news: The influence of news coverage and Google searches on Gardasil adverse event reporting
2017, VaccineCitation Excerpt :This effect was driven, at least in part, by increased Google search volumes. This is consistent with Eberth and colleagues [41] findings that a period of intense media coverage predicted increased AE reporting rates, mediated by internet search activity. The current study extends those findings, demonstrating that the impact of news coverage is not limited to one particularly intense episode of media attention, but also variations across a longer period.
Vaccine Safety
2017, Plotkin's VaccinesAdverse events following HPV vaccination, Alberta 2006-2014
2016, VaccineCitation Excerpt :Passive surveillance data may be affected by numerous factors, including “biased reporting, underreporting and the inability to determine whether a vaccine caused the adverse event in any individual report” [19]. Changes in reporting may result from changes in the reporting practices of healthcare personnel, or by community concerns (resulting in increased reporting to healthcare personnel) [20,21]. It is possible that the 2011 publication of the report of Gee and colleagues [4] might have affected reporting rates elsewhere, including in Ontario and in Alberta.