Alarm about vaccinations: ‘Protective layer is becoming thinner’

Why are doctors and other experts concerned?

‘Recently we have been seeing more and more diseases that can be prevented by vaccinations. And those diseases can be serious. For example, measles can kill you, whooping cough can be life-threatening for babies and mumps can make boys infertile.’

What makes them appear more often?

‘Fewer and fewer people are having themselves or their children vaccinated. This makes these infectious diseases spread more easily. Measles, for example, is very contagious. 95% of the population must be vaccinated against it to prevent a major outbreak. They then form a kind of protective layer for people who have not had a shot. It works like this: if someone in your class has measles, but all the other children have been vaccinated, the infected child cannot pass it on. That protective layer is now becoming thinner.’

Why are fewer people getting vaccinated?

‘Some people think the diseases are not serious. Indeed, you don’t often see serious cases, but that is precisely because we have vaccinations. Vaccines are also sometimes thought to be unsafe. That is not the case: all the vaccines we use have been extensively tested, have been used for decades and are safe. Social media reinforces these two things. If you look up information online, you may come across people who say things about it that are not true.’

How can this be resolved?

‘Experts must say that vaccines are safe and that diseases are potentially serious. And we need to be even more visible in places where people look for information, such as on TikTok. In addition, it should become easier to get an injection. So you don’t have to go through the entire city, but you can also do it around the corner. And also in the evening, just as you can now go to the dentist in the evening.’