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"Don't vaccinate your child because..." - Health misinformation, the "pandemic" that isn't stopping

2026-01-31 19:27:26Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"Don't vaccinate your child because..." - Health misinformation,
Pediatrics Department at the Regional Hospital in Durres

In recent years, Albania has seen an increase in parental reluctance to vaccinate their children, a phenomenon fueled by the circulation of inaccurate health information and a lack of trust in official sources.

"Until the children were preschoolers, I hadn't given them any vaccines," said Mira, a mother of twins who enrolled them in kindergarten for the first time in 2025.

Her decision, as she explains, was related to the fear of autism and the influence of information circulating in the family circle and on social networks.

"The fear was very great and was fueled by what I had heard in my family," she told Media Amfora, agreeing to be identified only by name for privacy reasons.

"My sister's daughter developed normally until she was two years old, but then she was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, and that scared me a lot. At the same time, every day I read news and comments on social media that linked autism to vaccines," the young mother added.

Such cases are not isolated, but reflect a broader climate of uncertainty that has been strengthened especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, when health information spread rapidly, often without verification.

Data from the Institute of Public Health showed that in January 2024, 11 cases of measles were confirmed in Tirana and Durrës, mostly unvaccinated children, while during 2025, 18 cases were registered, reflecting the increase in the disease as a result of decreased vaccination coverage.

In this context, pediatricians say they increasingly encounter parents who come with doubts and fears about vaccination, influenced by information circulating outside official channels.

"I'm surprised that there are cases of parents who come to me and ask me hesitantly whether or not they should vaccinate their child, for fear that they might cause autism," pediatrician Vladimir Kumaraku told Media Amfora.

According to the doctor, part of these fears is fueled by the way health information circulates in the public today, often out of context and without professional explanation.

"These concerns are directly related to the information circulating today," the pediatrician added, emphasizing that the way science is interpreted often creates more confusion than clarity.

Hesitation towards vaccination does not only remain in the doctor-parent relationship, but also appears in religious communities, where some families seek guidance in conditions of uncertainty and informational confusion.

"We have encountered cases among believers who have shown a kind of reluctance to receive vaccination doses, especially the one-year and two-year ones, because they have observed cases of autism symptoms among close friends and attribute these problems to receiving the vaccine," said Ervin Qylafku, Imam of the Great Mosque in Durrës.

According to him, this situation is fueled by the clash of official information with unconfirmed sources and unofficial authorities circulating in the public space.

"Today we have a flow of information that is sometimes confirmed and sometimes unconfirmed. In addition to official institutions such as the World Health Organization, other unofficial authorities are also circulating that make statements, and this clash of voices makes many people ambivalent about making decisions for their children," he added.

The pediatrician said that parents who approach him with concerns about vaccination often need clarification and professional reassurance. According to him, these doubts are increased by the coincidence in time between the age when some vaccines are administered and the moment when the first signs of autism spectrum disorder begin to be observed.

"If there were a real link between vaccination and autism, then we would be faced with a massive spread, just like in the case of infectious diseases," the pediatrician explained, adding that "there is no scientific data to support this claim."

For Mira, facing the requirement for vaccination cards at the time of registering her children for kindergarten brought her face to face with a decision she had been putting off for years. She says the pediatrician's explanations were crucial in taking this step with less fear.

“When I listened to the pediatrician and realized that my fears were not based on facts, I decided to get the vaccines,” she said. “I closed all social media, both mine and my husband's, because otherwise I wouldn't be able to cope with the situation,” the young woman added.

According to the imam of the Great Mosque in Durrës, the current situation is characterized by a high level of misinformation, which makes it difficult to distinguish between reliable and inaccurate information, directly influencing parents' decision-making.

"There is an extraordinary amount of misinformation, where we can no longer distinguish between what is the truth, what is the medically assessed opinion and what should not be taken into consideration. For this reason, we are divided as a society, because everything that surrounds us seems contaminated, starting from food, the environment and to the news that circulates in the media," said Ervin Qylafku.

He adds that this climate of uncertainty makes people more hesitant about any health-related decision, including vaccinating their children.

"All of this makes people very reserved about making decisions, especially when it comes to children's health, and this makes society live in a state of constant hesitation," he added.

According to him, in the face of this situation, the role of the doctor remains essential, while faith and science should not be placed in opposition.

"The role of the doctor is very important, because it is not just a profession, but a mission. Doctors and faith must be together to help people get out of the quagmire of misinformation," he concluded.

Even from a medical perspective, the problem lies not in the lack of information, but in the overload of inaccurate information, which confronts the parent with fear and doubt.

“Today, parents do not come without information, on the contrary, they come overloaded with wrong information,” explained pediatrician Vladimir Kumaraku. “This makes them more insecure and more afraid, because each source claims to have its own truth,” he concluded.

Vaccination hesitancy points to a contaminated information environment, where fear often feeds faster than facts. In this reality, health misinformation does not remain only on social networks, but is transformed into decisions that affect the health of children and society as a whole, making trust in accurate information one of the greatest challenges of our time./ Amfora.al


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