What you see is what you fear

Visual imagery can powerfully shape perceptions of risks as is clearly demonstrated by research on the use of graphic warnings on cigarette packs. Government efforts to counteract public fears of vaccines could harness this phenomenon by using public information campaigns that present visually the effects of vaccine-preventable diseases. Visual representations can also be used to communicate the relative risks of vaccines, which are generally negligible, and of the diseases they prevent. Such initiatives have the policy advantage of minimizing the sense of government intrusion that measures such as vaccine mandates and social restrictions could engender and the legal advantage of avoiding claims of infringement on civil liberties. Government policy should take advantage of this important and accessible tool.