In vaccines we trust? The effects of the CIA’s vaccine ruse on immunization in Pakistan
In vaccines we trust? The effects of the CIA’s vaccine ruse on immunization in Pakistan
544/2021 Monica Martinez-Bravo and Andreas Stegmann
In July 2011, the Pakistani public learnt that the CIA had used a vaccination campaign as cover to capture Osama Bin Laden. The Taliban leveraged on this information and launched an anti-vaccine propaganda campaign to discredit vaccines and vaccination workers. We evaluate the effects of these events on immunization by implementing a Difference-in-Differences strategy across cohorts and districts. We find that vaccination rates declined 12 to 20% per standard deviation in support for Islamist parties. These results suggest that information discrediting vaccination campaigns can negatively affect trust in health services and demand for immunization.
Public Policy and Data
Journal of the European Economic Association
https://doi.org/10.1093/jeea/jvab018