Fear of vaccine safety is higher in Europe than in the US

Europe is the world’s most vaccine-sceptic region. That’s according to a study that has surveyed 66,000 people living in 67 countries about their views on the importance and safety of vaccines. 

People in France showed the least confidence – 41 per cent of those surveyed said they disagreed that vaccines are safe. The global average was 12 per cent.

France was followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina, where 36 per cent doubted the safety of vaccines. Russia and Mongolia came next, with 28 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively. Greece, Japan and the Ukraine all recorded a 25 per cent lack of confidence.

In the US, 14 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed disagreed that vaccines are safe, while 86 per cent agree they are important.

“It’s striking that Europe stands out as the region most sceptical about vaccine safety,” says Heidi Larson, at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “In a world where the internet means concerns about vaccines can be shared in an instant, we should not underestimate the influence this can have on other countries around the world.”

South East Asia was the region found to be most confident in vaccine safety. In Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand, respectively 1 per cent, 3 per cent, and 6 per cent disagreed that vaccines were safe.

Of the 1,000 people surveyed in the UK, 9 per cent disagreed with the idea that vaccines were safe, while 90 per cent agreed that they are important.