In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA’s Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan

Monica Martinez-Bravo and Andreas Stegmann

Journal of the European Economic Association, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 150-186

Abstract: In July 2011, the Pakistani public learnt that the Central Intelligence Agency (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 between 23% and 39% in districts in the 90th percentile of Islamist support relative to those in the 10th percentile. These results suggest that information discrediting vaccination campaigns can negatively affect trust in health services and demand for immunization.

Date: 2022
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Related works:
Working Paper: In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA's Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan (2021)
Working Paper: In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA's Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan (2021)
Working Paper: In Vaccines We Trust? The Effects of the CIA's Vaccine Ruse on Immunization in Pakistan (2018)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:jeurec:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:150-186.

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