How Misinformation Has Contributed to Declining Vaccination Rates | APhA 2025
Lauren Angelo, PharmD, MBA, discussed current vaccination sentiments across the country and how misinformation has contributed to declining rates among US patients.
With pressure from the media, anti-vaccination lobbies, politics, and more, misinformation among the general public has significantly contributed to declining immunization rates in the US, according to a presentation at the American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition.1
In a presentation titled Fixin' to Address Vaccine Misinformation, Lauren Angelo, PharmD, MBA, began by addressing the declining immunization rates among US adults. She set the stage by introducing trends in patient intent to receive various vaccines, including COVID-19, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The most notable data points Angelo discussed were how at least 20% of all adults were probably or definitely not interested in receiving any of the 3 vaccines.
“As we explore vaccine hesitancy, you’ve seen this definition before: The delay in the acceptance or refusal of getting [a] vaccine even though it’s available,” said Angelo.1 Discussing data from over 300 local health departments, she also mentioned how survey responses from providers across the country show that hesitancy and a lack of confidence in their effects are the main barriers to vaccine uptake in the US.
READ MORE: Pharmacists’ Role in Addressing Vaccine Barriers Among Underserved Communities | APhA 2025
Among the spread of misinformation, pharmacists face a growing issue that can only be combated with further education and clinical evidence. | image credit: TarikTalha / stock.adobe.com
With vaccine hesitancy leading to declining immunization rates, Angelo’s goal was to help the audience understand why a lack of confidence in vaccines is so prominent in the US. By grouping the factors leading to hesitancy into specific influences, experts are able to better understand why patients are impartial toward specific vaccines. These factors include contextual, individual group, and vaccine-specific influences.
“We talk about media. We talk about anti-vaccination lobbies, some of the policies around this, perceptions of industry,” she continued.1 “We look at some of the individual group influences just putting on their communities regarding beliefs and attitudes. We’re seeing that with some of those measles outbreaks right now, [which are] very community-focused.”
She then discussed the vaccine-specific issues, which were notably heightened at the inception of the first COVID-19 vaccine.
“Whenever there’s new information, new policies, we do see an uptick in hesitancy and those concerns that have come to light. Some examples would be the MMR vaccine and autism, HPV and fainting, and then the COVID-19 infodemic,” she said.1
These examples of vaccine hesitancy and misinformation have circulated throughout the media for years, leading to the mass acceptance of misinformation. While the efficacy and safety of all of these vaccines have been clinically proven, the dissemination of information becomes key in ensuring the population is able to reap the benefits of immunization.
“The data also reveals that perceived information overload led to an increase in vaccine acceptance and uptake, whereas belief in vaccine misinformation may cause a decrease,” according to a study published in Information Processing and Management.2
This study showed that understanding the correct information regarding vaccines led to higher uptake and vice versa, a finding that highlights the amplification of misinformation on social media and within specific communities.
“We know that false information tends to spread more quickly. Again, it gets back to that emotional response or that need to latch on to something,” continued Angelo.1 “It's interesting with social media and fact checking, most of them are post-posting [or] post-policing, so the post is made and then it might get pulled if it's deemed to be incorrect, as opposed to fact checking in advance before something gets posted. And algorithms just love the spread of things that trigger negative emotions.”
As she detailed throughout her presentation, addressing vaccine hesitancy is not a simple task. With internet and community infrastructures built on misinformation, pharmacists and other health care providers face a growing issue that can only be combated with further education and clinical evidence.
Angelo concluded her presentation by addressing the key factors that lead to hesitancy and what providers need to understand in order to correct declining immunization rates.
“Misinformation, disinformation, [and the] infodemic have definitely contributed to a lot of the vaccine hesitancy and lower rates that we're seeing or continuing to see,” she concluded.1 “I think access and affordability are 2 of the biggest challenges [in] a lot of communities that we need to work with, and making sure we have community leaders involved.”
