GSK's Vaccines President Explains Vaccine Hesitancy

From The September 2016 Issue
Will GSK's Deal With Novartis Pay Off For Its Vaccine Aspirations?

Not long ago, a research team from the CDC fleshed out the measles activity in the United States. Much of the recent measles outbreak was linked to international travel and Disney Theme parks. While the threat may have come from imported infections, the reason the measles threat became a reality was largely the result of unvaccinated Americans. According to Luc Debruyne, president of GSK Vaccines and the subject of a feature article in Life Science Leader magazine’s September 2016 issue, the anti-vaccination movement is actually referred to as vaccine hesitancy, and is not just a U.S. but global phenomenon. “There are a couple of obvious reasons for why vaccine hesitancy has taken hold,” says Debruyne. “First, the physicians who graduate today have likely not seen the consequences of many devastating diseases.” But Debruyne says we should not lay the blame for children being unvaccinated at the feet of doctors. “Not one parent would choose to have something bad happen to their child,” state Debruyne. “But let’s not blame the parents who don’t vaccinate their children.” Instead, Debruyne suggests introspection. “What could we do as a society to better communicate the importance of vaccination?” he asks. “How can we create a feedback loop of positive information, effectiveness, and safety of vaccines?” While Debruyne believes that vaccine manufacturers could work more closely with regulators and governments to create that positive feedback loop to doctors, nurses, and parents about what a vaccine actually does, the sole responsibility should not be left up to corporations. “To truly gain the trust of parents, vaccination education should be done in partnership with those who have the data,” he states. “Governments have the data, because they have the mandatory vaccination calendars. And we need to work together to not only publish the data, but translate the information into language that is easy to understand, not just for parents, but for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists, so they can help transfer that information so parents can be confident as to why their child should be vaccinated.”