Trusted Voices in Medicine: Helping Constituents Navigate Vaccine Information

On Dec. 9, the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease (PFID) hosted a webinar featuring physician leaders who have served in both medical and public office to discuss how doctors, pharmacists, and public health leaders can help Americans navigate evolving vaccine guidance. The conversation focused on medically grounded information, the urgency to preserve access and options, and reinforcement of credible sources to keep constituents healthy.

The discussion featured:

• Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th U.S. Surgeon General, anesthesiologist

• Dr. Larry Bucshon, former U.S. Representative (R-IN), cardiothoracic surgeon

• Dr. Michael C. Burgess, MD, former U.S. Congressman (R-TX), obstetrician-gynecologist

Watch the full recording HERE, and read below for a recap of the conversation.

The conversation opened with a reminder that physicians are America’s most trusted source for medical information. Nine in 10 voters want vaccine guidance from doctors and medically trained public health experts, according to Fabrizio Ward polling.

Reflecting on a recent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting, the panelists addressed concerns about confusing health messaging and its impact on the public’s vaccine confidence. That confusion is increasing amid a broader national rise in misinformation and disinformation around vaccines.

The panel stressed the importance of Americans consulting their local healthcare providers.

“Vaccines don't just succeed off what is said in front of a podium in Washington, D.C.,” said Adams, who served as Surgeon General during the first Trump administration. “They succeed because of what happens in exam rooms and pharmacies and local community centers at the local level.”

The panelists addressed claims that insufficient data exists for the recommended vaccines.

Reality, they said, tells an entirely different story. Many recommended vaccines, including for hepatitis B, have been administered for more than 30 years. In the U.S. alone, the CDC found that routine childhood vaccines prevented 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and more than 1.1 million premature deaths from vaccine-preventable illness.

The consequences of declining vaccine confidence are serious.

"The more we lower vaccine confidence, the more we're going to see outbreaks,” Adams said. “We had two children die of measles this year. We had the largest number of measles cases in 30 years, and we had two children die of whooping cough. This is just unnecessary. Let's not change policies in a way that sows doubt in vaccines and actually verifiably and certainly will harm kids."

Said Burgess: "If you don't vaccinate people, [the diseases] will come back, and the statistics will catch up where you will have deaths, unnecessary deaths and other complications that are likely to have lifelong implications for people."

The conversation also addressed another dangerous trend in the public discourse – misrepresenting the relation between vaccination and adverse events. People ideologically opposed to vaccines often highlight very rare occurrences of side effects. Portraying such events as common — often without context of a disease’s toll without immunization — can mislead parents.

Data consistently demonstrates that vaccines and the childhood vaccine schedule do not increase the risk of developmental delays, autoimmune conditions, chronic health problems, or autism.

“People who are not favorable to vaccines for philosophical reasons are using very, very rare occurrences and acting like these are very common and that the government just isn't telling us,” Bucshon said. “But we have decades of data to show that's just not true, we have safety data. There will be people that will have horrible complications from being vaccinated or other medical therapy, but the numbers are really, really small.

“Honestly, I think it's being taken advantage of just to frighten people and make people question the safety.”

Burgess noted that there are no federal mandates for any vaccine, and Bucshon agreed that states and area health departments should continue to lead local regulations. He added that Congress, in turn, is responsible for appropriate oversight of federally funded agencies, like the Department of Health and Human Service.

The panel discussed the need for more substantive accountability, focusing on evidence and effectiveness, not partisan politics.

In Texas, "we saw the unfortunate measles outbreak and unfortunately, dozens of childhood hospitalizations with two deaths,” Adams said. “But what we (also) did see is a big uptick in vaccinations.

“It shows that we can bring people to a place where they will vaccinate and increase their vaccination rates. And I hope that one of the things Congress can and will do is pay attention to those stories, pay attention to the rates, and use the Texas situation as a reason to move in the right direction."

The panelists concluded with a unified message: Trust your local healthcare providers.

Drs. Adams, Bucshon, and Burgess had similar recommendations for policymakers and their staff: encourage constituents to engage their physicians, reduce the politicization of public health issues, and have confidence in the American people to make informed decisions when provided with accurate information and access to care.

The fundamentals remain. Evidence-based medical guidance, trusted local relationships, and access to quality care will always guide America toward better health outcomes.

“In the public health space, you are operating in a new environment right now,” Burgess said. “We also know there continue to be infectious diseases and vaccine-preventable diseases, and if you want to do the right thing by your constituents, you're going to encourage them to interact with their physicians who, again, I just reiterate, have their best interests at heart, rather than a political agenda.”

Bucshon added a call to his former Congressional colleagues.

“There are areas of legitimate differences on policy,” he said. “But on one thing we’re all together, and that’s: ‘Do we want to make the health of the American people better?’ Whatever that takes to make it easier for providers to take care of people and improve the health of American people – that goal we agree on. I think that there's an opportunity on policy to come together on some of these issues and solve some of the big problems."