Assessment 6
Question 1
Read each of the points listed below and choose the correct option from the drop-down list to indicate whether the information is:
• more likely to influence how health experts evaluate vaccine risks
or
• more likely to influence how members of the public evaluate vaccine risks.
| A. | Simplified key messages about vaccine safety and the risk of adverse events. |
| B. | Morbidity and mortality rates following immunization with specific vaccines. |
| C. | Adverse personal experiences of vaccination in the past. |
| D. | Rumours of adverse events following immunization. |
| E. | Population data on the incidence of AEFIs relative to the incidence of disease-related harm. |
| F. | Research studies on vaccine safety in specialist journals. |
| G. | Information that supports informed consent to vaccination. |
| H. | Information in accessible language about the symptoms and complications of vaccine-preventable diseases. |
Perception of risk varies strongly depending on the audience.
Health experts do not view the risks associated with a medical procedure (such as vaccination) in the same way as members of the public. They understand risks in terms of numerical values and rates: for example, this table compares the risks of death due to three vaccine-preventable diseases and the risks of adverse events following immunization with the approved vaccines.
Parents, guardians and vaccinees, however, rather want to know whether they or their child could be the "one in a million" who develops encephalitis following immunization with measles vaccine.