A Jab in the Dark: Educating About Immunology to Shed Light on the Issue of Vaccination

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has increased interest in our immune systems and vaccination. However, as a cohort, teenagers possess the highest levels of vaccine hesitancy in New Zealand. This hesitancy could be linked to teenagers’ extensive social media activity and exposure to mis- and disinformation in this sphere. Moreover, youth vaccine hesitancy is a public health problem since elevated vaccination levels provide community immunity for wider and future society. To help teenagers make an informed decision about vaccination, there is a need for teaching about immunology, but there appears to be a gap in The New Zealand Curriculum for its teaching. This paper explores senior secondary school biology teachers’ views about immunology education. They believe that immunology is challenging and complicated, that resource support may be helpful, and that students are interested in learning about the topic. Pedagogical suggestions are then given to support teachers who wish to include immunology and vaccination in their teaching, as well as recommendations for how to ethically approach mis- and disinformation in the classroom.