The anti-vax movement started in 1998, thanks to a now-discredited study by former medical researcher Andrew Wakefield, which tied the measles, mumps and rubella—better known as the MMR—vaccine to autism, among other things.
Sadly, even though the study was debunked, a number of celebrities have taken up the anti-vax mantle. And now, nearly 20 years after that first study was published, the US is in the midst of a totally preventable measles outbreak.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2014 saw the highest number of measles cases in the US since 2001. 2015 is hot on its heels with 121 cases already reported by February 6.
According to the CDC site:
- The majority of the people who got measles were unvaccinated.
- Measles is still common in many parts of the world including some countries in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and Africa.
- Travelers with measles continue to bring the disease into the U.S.
- Measles can spread when it reaches a community in the U.S. where groups of people are unvaccinated.
The anti-vaccination movement isn’t just a few nutcases either. The stand against vaccines is actually showing up in market projections. A new report from TechNavio covering the Global Preventable Vaccines Market from 2014-2019 even cites “misperception about vaccines” as one of the major challenges the market is expected to face over the projected period.
But while anti-vaccers are certainly having a negative impact—we don’t need to look any further than the measles outbreak to see that—they don’t seem to have too much sway on the overall market.
If we exclusively look at the market projections, it would seem like the anti-vax movement is way more bark than bite. The preventable vaccines market is still growing at a cumulative average growth rate of 10.16 percent from 2014-2019.
In fact, even though the majority of the anti-vaccination sentiment hails from the US, the Americas led the Global Preventable Vaccines market in 2014, accounting for a market share of 42.00 percent, with the US being the largest revenue contributor.
Lucky for the vaccines market, there are factors at play that are much more powerful than Jenny McCarthy.
Factors like an increase in the inclusion of pediatric vaccinations in the national immunization program of various nations, an increase in the prevalence of infectious diseases, the emergence of resistant strains and coupled with a rise in awareness are expected to drive the market during the forecast period.
