Impact of a local newspaper campaign on the uptake of the measles mumps and rubella vaccine

Since July 1997 a protracted campaign against the MMR vaccine has been run by the South Wales Evening Post (SWEP), an evening newspaper sold in parts of two Health Authority areas (Morgannwg and Dyfed Powys). We report an investigation into MMR uptake in that area of distribution and compared it with uptake in the rest of Wales.

Methods and results

In Wales COVER statistics for the 14 trusts that provide community services are published quarterly by the Welsh Unit of the Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Diseases Surveillance Centre. The distribution area of the SWEP (Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and Llanelli) matches the localities served by two of these trusts. Coverage for the quarter July to September 1998 was compared with the same quarter a year previously in both the distribution area of the SWEP and the rest of Wales.

Uptake declined by 13.6% (95% confidence intervals 10.9% to 16.2%) in the distribution area of the SWEP and by 2.4% (95% confidence intervals 1.4% to 5.5%) in the rest of Wales. Before the campaign, uptake was significantly higher in the distribution area of the paper compared with the rest of Wales (difference 1.7%, 95% confidence intervals 0.1% to 3.4%). After the start of the campaign, uptake was significantly lower in the distribution area of the paper compared with the rest of Wales (difference ?9.4%, 95% confidence intervals ?7.1% to ?11.7%)

http://jech.bmj.com/content/54/6/473.full

Last week BBC Today reported reported: "Health service officials claim that one of the main reasons Swansea is at the centre of the epidemic is because the local Evening Post ran a campaign raising concerns about the MMR vaccine in the late 90s."
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Writing today Roberts said: "It is dangerous to judge this campaign outside of its time. The evidence of a link between the MMR and autism has since been discredited, but in 1997 that was not the case. There was genuine concern, even fear, among parents that they could be putting their children at risk.

"The Evening Post highlighted those concerns in its campaign. It gave those with worries about MMR a voice and, in keeping with the tradition of this paper, that voice was balanced by the views of those who supported the vaccine. And we weren't alone. This was a nationwide concern that generated headlines across the country. To put our coverage in context, a paper was published in the medical journal The Lancet in 1998 which presented evidence that autism disorders could be caused by the vaccine. This was later retracted, but not until 2010. It is clear that there were genuine concerns in the mid-90s about MMR and the Post gave them full and responsible coverage.

"Our campaign reflected the concerns of parents, it told their stories, it called for answers, it wanted clarity. What it did not do was tell people to avoid immunising their children against measles - or mumps, or rubella.

"It actually warned parents they had to ensure their children were protected. It said measles was not a disease to be taken lightly. What it did do was suggest people considered the options, sought medical advice, looked at the single jab alternative. And when health experts came out and defended the MMR jab as safe, the paper printed those stories too.

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/south-wales-post-editor-defends-title-against-charge-its-campaign-helped-fuel-measles-outbreak