Tool Brings Vax vs Disease Risk Into Stark Contrast

As vaccine hesitancy continues to rise, fueling a record-breaking resurgence of measles, among other public health threats, an online tool launched this week aims to help people better understand vaccine safety. The free and interactive tool -- called "What's the Risk?" -- was created by the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) and Unbiased Science. "For many people, statistics such as '1 in 10,000' and '1 in a million' are difficult to interpret, even though one represents a risk 100 times greater than the other," the organizations said in a press release. "The new tool transforms those abstract numbers into scaled visual comparisons that allow users to see vaccine risks alongside the risks posed by the diseases vaccines prevent." Jess Steier, DrPH, MPH, founder and CEO of Unbiased Science, told MedPage Today that when it comes to vaccines, "we're not just telling [people] that the risk is low, we're showing them." The tool functions by comparing complications from diseases, such as measles and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), versus complications from their vaccines. "I think the goal will ultimately be to include all vaccine-preventable infectious diseases" in the tool, in addition to other non-infectious diseases, such as cancer and chronic conditions, Steier said. Izzy Brandstetter Figueroa, MPH, director of vaccine science communication at Unbiased Science, noted that "everything we do in any given day is a risk. We're taking risks every single day when we leave our house, when we get in the car, when we walk the dog. There's risks involved in those, and I think because they're so small, we don't think about them." "So the purpose here is to really ground us in, just because something is written out in a package insert ... doesn't make it more serious or more common than some other common risks we take every day that just aren't written down," she added. In their ongoing collaboration, CIDRAP and Unbiased Science are focused on disseminating evidence-based vaccine information. "One of the things we've been thinking about is, how do we help people better discern the accuracy of information?" Kevin Griffis, director of media relations and public affairs at CIDRAP, told MedPage Today. "What can we do to help people become better consumers of information?" He noted that Unbiased Science does "a good job of explaining the science in a way that people can understand," and the groups are aiming to apply creativity to tell the story of that science. When it comes to determining the factors that are causing people to be concerned or hesitant about vaccination and the information that clinicians should be sharing with their patients, Griffis pointed to organizations beyond federal agencies. There have been a "number of different groups that are trying to help fill that gap," he said. The target audience for "What's the Risk?" is the general public, as well as public health leaders and clinicians who may find the tool useful for navigating conversations about vaccines with patients, Steier said. Typically, "they don't have a ton of time in clinical encounters, especially when they're dealing with acute issues," Steier noted, "so we're doing whatever we can to create tools that can minimize the burden that falls on them and to help facilitate those conversations as best as possible."