Rachel Chieng
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked discussions on the importance of vaccinations and conversations about increasing vaccine hesitancy within the population. Though the slow vaccination rate (as of August 7, 39.5% of Australians have at least 1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine) may be largely due to the national rollout, vaccine hesitancy may play a role [1]. While trends in vaccine hesitancy have decreased in Australia from May 2021 to August 2021 (35.55% to 21.8%), work to reduce vaccine hesitancy as much as possible is important in avoiding COVID-19 and many diseases [1].
Much of the concern behind a COVID-19 vaccine is its safety (approximately 70% of vaccine-hesitant adults) after a quick production rate compared to past vaccines [2]. While many see this as ‘cutting corners’, no shortcuts were taken in their production. In fact, the speed and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccines have been viewed as having a positive change to medical science and with effective funding and support, other life-saving vaccinations can be quickly produced such as cancer vaccines.
Vaccines are currently being developed to prevent cancer or help cancer patients with their treatment. These vaccines aim to target specific proteins in cancer cells to boost the immune system against these cells. Some of the cancer vaccines currently in production are targeting melanoma and breast cancers, though these vaccines have been in development for a few years [3].
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has been around since 2007, preventing cervical cancer in women for more than a decade. HPV is a virus transmitted via skin-to-skin contact, resulting in genital warts, benign warts or in some cases cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine has been responsible for preventing 70% of cervical cancer and 90% of genital warts yet vaccine hesitancy is still a problem despite these benefits. The change in vaccination rates from 2012 to 2017 of fully vaccinated 15-year-old Australian girls (71.9% to 80.2%) shows an improvement but is still behind compared to other vaccination rates [4].
The initial issue with the uptake of the HPV vaccine was due to the sexual transmissibility of HPV combined with the target population for the vaccine which was young girls. Many parents were concerned due to the stigmatisation of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). However, a study conducted in 2013 found that parents are receptive to vaccinating their children despite the sexual nature of HPV [5]. Their main concern was the lack of discussion surrounding the legislation for mandatory vaccination of the HPV vaccine, creating distrust within the community. Researchers believe that if they educated the parents on the risks of not vaccinating their children in an open and transparent environment it would decrease vaccine hesitancy.
COVID-19 vaccination is receiving similar hesitancy to the HPV vaccine experience. Perhaps greater transparency and education of the COVID-19 vaccines would reduce the hesitancy rates. Greater uptake of a COVID-19 vaccination will result in fewer COVID-19 cases, with less burden on public health and hopefully lead to the easing of lockdown restrictions and a return to a more “engaged” way of life and healthier communities overall.