Germany is one of the countries in Europe with a high number of vaccine skeptics. Despite this, a recent global study conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has shown that trust in vaccines has increased in Germany in recent years. The study analyzed data from 149 countries and 290 surveys, evaluating the attitudes of 284,000 people towards the importance, effectiveness, and safety of vaccines. The results showed that trust in vaccines in Germany has risen from 66% in 2015 to 69% in 2019. Additionally, 59% of respondents believed that vaccines are effective, compared to 53% in 2015.
While Germany’s trust in vaccines is on par with other central European countries like Austria, the global comparison shows that trust in vaccines in Europe is generally low. For example, in France, only 30% of the population considers vaccines to be safe. However, the study also revealed that trust in vaccines has decreased significantly in many countries in recent years, with misinformation campaigns by vaccine skeptics being a major contributing factor.
The study’s authors note that incidents like the Dengue vaccine controversy in the Philippines are rare and that most safety concerns about vaccines are not supported by scientific evidence. The increase in trust in vaccines in Germany is a positive development, but there is still work to be done to combat vaccine skepticism and ensure that more people are vaccinated to protect public health.
