Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen joined vaccination experts at the 21st annual Allegheny County Immunization Coalition Conference in western Pennsylvania to discuss vaccines and public trust in healthcare.
Dr. Bogen highlighted a decline in public trust in many areas of healthcare, including vaccines. She noted that while 93% of parents are vaccinating their children, this figure has dropped from 96.5% in previous years.
This year’s conference comes as Pennsylvania faces its worst measles outbreak in decades. Dr. Bogen said people may have forgotten how effective vaccines are at preventing diseases and expressed hope that these conversations could help rebuild trust and understanding in healthcare.
“We have a very complex communications world these days. People get their information, some from social media, some from newspapers, some from the radio, some from their friends. And so it’s hard because there’s a lot of places to get information, and it isn’t always vetted through a careful system,” Dr. Bogen said.