Effects of a measles outbreak on vaccination uptake

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• Measles outbreaks can impact public health interventions.
• Vaccination uptake is crucial for disease control.
• Understanding parental response to outbreaks is key for policy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a measles outbreak on childhood vaccination rates in Austria.
• To analyze how parental risk perception and education level influence vaccination decisions post-outbreak.

Main Methods:

• Utilized administrative data with individual-level childhood vaccination information.
• Defined a treatment group exposed to the measles outbreak and a control group.
• Compared vaccination rates (first and second dose of MMR vaccine) between groups 12 months after the outbreak.

Main Results:

• Vaccination rates increased by 2.5 percentage points for the first MMR dose and 4 percentage points for the second dose in the treatment group.
• No evidence suggests families at higher risk responded more strongly.
• Heterogeneity observed, with higher-educated parents showing faster information absorption.

Conclusions:

• Measles outbreaks can positively influence overall vaccination uptake.
• The perceived value of vaccination appears to increase across the population following an outbreak.
• Parental education level plays a role in how families respond to public health information during outbreaks.