Technology key to fighting anti-vaxx movement, report suggests

Technology could play a major role in helping to increase adult vaccination rates and break down other barriers to vaccination, according to a new report.

The “Data, bots and drones” report, set to be published during World Immunisation Week, looks at the role technology could play in increasing vaccination coverage among adults.

Supported by a grant from pharma player Sanofi Pasteur, the report finds that technology including big data, gamification and AI offer opportunities to increase vaccination rates and counter fake news regarding vaccines.

In particular, it examines how the growing anti-vaxx movement has been impacting immunisation rates across the globe. However, it does note that a fightback has begun with healthcare organisations developing more robust online presences to respond to the movement.

The report also looks at some of the ways technology is already being developed to break down barriers to vaccination. For instance, the UK is leading the world in the use of weekly data to support influenza vaccination in older people, whereas the University of Queensland is developing a nanopatch which could be used as an alternative to the needle for delivering vaccines.

Other methods including calling on Instagram Influencers to help encourage younger generations and using location-based alerts to prompt people into getting vaccinated are also included in the report.

More so, the report includes a set of recommendations calling on European policymakers to:

·Develop a specific funding programme on “what works” to ensure that policy and financial investment in technology delivers its potential

·Legislate to ensure that products and services are accessible and usable for all ages and abilities.

·Recognise the challenges of demographic change and ageing populations and ensure policy supports vaccination as important across our lives. As part of this, develop an EU wide programme of action to encourage uptake of adult as well as child immunisation.

David Sinclair, director, ILC said: “It’s important that we continue to protect ourselves from infectious diseases like the flu throughout our lives and into old age.”

“But in the same way as vaccination is not just for kids, nor is technology. Our research reveals there are lots of ways in which technology can help break down the barriers to uptake of adult vaccination. There are some great ideas out there.”

“But in the context of retirement and old age, we have to make sure that any technology introduced is useable and accessible. We need to ensure that digital exclusion is no barrier to older people benefitting from innovations in health and technology”.

Michael Greenberg, head of Global Medical Strategy, Sanofi Pasteur, said: “Digital is part of our everyday life and vaccination at any age is a bedrock of public health. Using technology to find better ways to improve immunisation coverage among adults is just common sense.”

“In our work with Google we see that machine learning can help understand drivers and barriers to vaccination. Wearable data, such as from fitness trackers, can provide insights on the impact of vaccine-preventable diseases.”

“It’s exciting to see the work that ILC-UK has done in understanding the opportunities to be realised in this fast-moving area.”