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The CDC advises the media to scare people into taking vaccines.
The CDC director of media relations and communications Glen Nowak made a presentation in 2004 to the CDCs Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats.
The presentation outlines the way the CDC plan to use the media for the purposes of frightening the population into taking vaccines.
It starts off by explaining that facts and figures do not have the desired effect in convincing people to take vaccines.
It goes on to explain how to use scare tactics as a "recipe" for "fostering public interest and high vaccine demand". It explains how to use the media to give people the "perception" that many people are falling ill and the "perception of vulnerability".
He talks about how to use recommendations for 50-64-year olds and babies between 6-23 months as tools to "imply" it is helping the infirm and that they have data of that precision.
It explains that the approach has to be multipronged, through every facet of media and that people need to be exposed to the message 10-12 times to achieve results. He talks about how to use health experts to frighten people into taking vaccines and uses media cartoons as a way of explaining the plan.
He also says that they should "foster" a greater impression of the risk factor by implying uncertainty and sharing dilemmas.
He concludes by requesting more research into communication and plans to become less reliant on media and news. Presumably by making vaccines mandatory? This will probably be as a form of coercement, it is easier to guide someone down the path rather than completely changing a person's direction.
Reference: -
Nowak, G., 2004, June. Increasing awareness and uptake of influenza immunization. In Presentation at the Institute of Medicine Workshop on Pandemic Influenza: Assessing Capabilities for Prevention and Response, Washington, DC, Institute of Medicine Forum on Microbial Threats.