Jenny Mccarthy Anti-Vaccine Movement
Section One: Jenny McCarthy (301 words)
One of the main characters, Jenny McCarthy, is a celebrity and anti-vaccine activist in Paul A. Offit’s book that can be directly connected to the field of public health. This character serves to describe the kind of social and behavioral activities involved in the influencing of public hysteria surrounding the anti-vaccine movement. Jenny McCarthy, a well-known Chicago native, was born on November 1, 1972. She attended college to study nursing at Southern Illinois University in the city of Carbondale, but eventually dropped out to pursue her dream of becoming a model. In 1993, without much effort, her success was realized as she landed Playmate of the Month in Playboy magazine, and later went on to become …show more content…
This kind of immunization resistance is a result of the increased concern of possible negative vaccine side effects, which has been supported by anti-vaccine activists like Jenny McCarthy, who have made a career of playing into the publics fear. This study decided to use a similar strategy and use social marketing as a way to address common concerns, encourage vaccine immunization, and to help rebuild the public’s trust in the medical community. Opel, Diekema, Lee, and Marcuse explain that “In 2004, 93% of pediatricians reported that there was at least one parental refusal of a recommended vaccine in the last year, and a recent analysis of data from the 2004 National Immunization Survey found that 28% of parents were unsure about, delayed, or refused vaccines” (2009, p. 433). These statistics are undoubtedly attributed to the increased media attention gained by the anti-vaccine movement and proves that a new strategy is needed to promote behavioral change in the …show more content…
The social-behavioral science aspect can be seen in the anti-vaccine following gained by Jenny McCarthy and the other anti-vaccine activists. When certain influential people are given a media platform to express their beliefs and opinions on a topic, regardless of having any backing from the scientific community, there is a higher chance that their message will be received well and continue to grow on society. The public may not be receiving accurate information on vaccine immunization, but they will continue to believe what they want to because it fits their agenda and they have a significantly large group supporting their same claims.
Article #2: The Age-Old Struggle against the
One of the main characters, Jenny McCarthy, is a celebrity and anti-vaccine activist in Paul A. Offit’s book that can be directly connected to the field of public health. This character serves to describe the kind of social and behavioral activities involved in the influencing of public hysteria surrounding the anti-vaccine movement. Jenny McCarthy, a well-known Chicago native, was born on November 1, 1972. She attended college to study nursing at Southern Illinois University in the city of Carbondale, but eventually dropped out to pursue her dream of becoming a model. In 1993, without much effort, her success was realized as she landed Playmate of the Month in Playboy magazine, and later went on to become …show more content…
This kind of immunization resistance is a result of the increased concern of possible negative vaccine side effects, which has been supported by anti-vaccine activists like Jenny McCarthy, who have made a career of playing into the publics fear. This study decided to use a similar strategy and use social marketing as a way to address common concerns, encourage vaccine immunization, and to help rebuild the public’s trust in the medical community. Opel, Diekema, Lee, and Marcuse explain that “In 2004, 93% of pediatricians reported that there was at least one parental refusal of a recommended vaccine in the last year, and a recent analysis of data from the 2004 National Immunization Survey found that 28% of parents were unsure about, delayed, or refused vaccines” (2009, p. 433). These statistics are undoubtedly attributed to the increased media attention gained by the anti-vaccine movement and proves that a new strategy is needed to promote behavioral change in the …show more content…
The social-behavioral science aspect can be seen in the anti-vaccine following gained by Jenny McCarthy and the other anti-vaccine activists. When certain influential people are given a media platform to express their beliefs and opinions on a topic, regardless of having any backing from the scientific community, there is a higher chance that their message will be received well and continue to grow on society. The public may not be receiving accurate information on vaccine immunization, but they will continue to believe what they want to because it fits their agenda and they have a significantly large group supporting their same claims.
Article #2: The Age-Old Struggle against the