Who is to blame for fall in measles vaccination rates?

Covid vax opponents produce polling that seeks to absolve themselves of blame while doubling down on anti-vax talking points

What are the causes of increasing vax hesitancy?

UsForThem, a UK group which led a misleading campaign against covid vax for kids, says the covid vax roll out has damaged parents trust in all vaccines

But was it government actions or the interpretation of it by such campaigners?

2/There was a coordinated campaign against child vax before data or decisions were even made

Their starting point is that there is no benefit of vax but considerable risk, the data doesn't support this.

3/ It's worth noting that while UsForThem and followers decry the fall in vax rates, they are not encouraging catch up of traditional standard vax but instead are describing any pro-vax messaging as "coercion" and "medical grooming"

Will this reduce or increase hesitancy

4/ I also think that calling the whole covid vaccine programme a crime against humanity that could be 3 times as deadly as the holocaust and promoting the likes of RFK Jr doesn't help reduce vax hesitancy

5/ So with the blame game on UsForThem have done some independent polling....

6/ The polling is done by a law firm to go alongside the new book UsForThem have to sell,a book that describes everything to do with covid vax as sinister and disturbing and questions if any vax can be trusted due to regulatory capture by big pharma who control media and politics.

7/ This is also the Law firm who have prepared UsForThem's legal letter threatening the covid inquiry with judicial review, so its a bit confusing how this could be described as independent polling.

These are the headline figures UfT have put out, just over 2000 were polled.

8/ Kingsley suggests there are legitimate concerns for those declining measles vax and suggests this is because she thinks harms from mRNA vax is being covered up

9/ Kingsley cites Bridgen MPs recent debate on excess deaths, of which the only cause he and supporters suggested was covid vaccines

No acknowledgement that excess deaths rise and fall with covid waves🤦‍♂️

10/ UsForThem don't recognise that antivax narratives have had an effect on confidence, but then again I haven't seen them acknowledge that any antivax disinformation is disinformation, even the most ludicrous nonsense
They believe their "independent" poll proves this

11/ What the poll does appear to show is how much of an impact misrepresenting and reframing government policy/messaging can have on public opinion.

12/ 8 questions in the independent polling run by the lawyers representing them

Q1. Did you get you child the covid vax?
65% of respondents don't have children aged 5-18, so we are down to just over 700 applicable parents

13/ Q2 were you aware at the time that the covid vaccine had only been given provisional authorisation in the UK at the point it was offered to children meaning not all the usual new medicine safety checks had been completed?

14/ The issue with Q2 is that while the vaccines went through a rolling review process, they still had to meet all the safety checks expected of other medicines

So we have a dishonest question playing to antivax talking points
swlstg.nhs.uk/news-and-event…

15/ Q3 Would knowing this have affected your decision to get your child vaccinated?

16/ Q4 Were you aware the JCVI declined to recommend covid vax for 12-15 Yr olds and was then overuled by the CMO, first time ever a vax was rolled out to children without the committees recommendation?

17/ Q4 is another dishonest question, the JCVI was not overuled
MHRA had found it to be safe
JCVI questioned the cost benefit on an individual basis and referred the design to the CMOs to consider wider benefits

I repeat
They referred to CMOs to decide, they weren't "overuled"

18/ Kingsley and her husband have written a whole book where one of the key fulcrums is around the JCVI being "overuled", it's a misrepresentation they propagated to sow distrust, they're corporate lawyers and would have understood the nuance of language they've chosen to ignore

19/ Q5 Would this have affected your decision to get your child vaccinated?

20/ Q6 Prior to the pandemic would you have given your child all or most the traditional childhood vaccines from the NHS such as polio, MMR, HPV?

21/ Q7 How likely or unlikely would you be to give your child any other vaccine recommended by the government in the future?

22/Q8 How likely or unlikely are you to have your child get a Covid booster vax if offered again for free by the NHS?

23/ UsForThem conclude that the polling shows clear evidence that distrust in covid vax roll out is reducing take up of other vaccines

I agree with this conclusion, but not the cause of distrust

24/ UsForThem say covid vax was a manipulative propaganda campaign and the only way to restore trust is for gov to tell the public the vax programme was a mistake, they also suggest a connection between vaccines and the "excess deaths" crisis referring again to Bridgen's debate.

25/ What this small sample polling actually shows is that the misleading narrative UfT have played a large part in propagating (safety checks not done, JCVI overuled, pro-vax propaganda, sinister/murky dealings etc)
is damaging trust in all vaccines

26/ And that this doubling down on their narrative trying to stir up distrust in all vaccines is just going to make matters worse.

If they were "not antivax just anti this vax" and cared about children's wellbeing then shouldn't they be encouraging parents to keep up with

27/ traditional vaccines?

Instead it's "I'm not antivax, I just don't trust the government on any vax now, BTW isn't RFK Jr a hero"

That's an antivax agenda, and all their own polling has proven is that their misinformation is increasing vax hesitancy

28/ They've ended up in this position in a desperate effort to stay relevant, somehow the Kingsleys have turned this into a full time occupation, their interview with Bhattacharya was all about them, and how hard done by they were

29/ But the reality is that this organisation that claims to represent children has played a role in undermining one of the cheapest most effective measures there is in protecting children from preventable harm through dishonest means

30/ Children are going to be harmed, some likely already have because of the rhetoric of this group and their allies, those in the media who gave them a platform to undermine public health for ideological reasons have also contributed to these harms

"Look what we did"