{"id":25969,"date":"2019-09-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/"},"modified":"2020-01-06T19:22:23","modified_gmt":"2020-01-06T19:22:23","slug":"turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/","title":{"rendered":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nineteen years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC) declared that measles\u2014a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease\u2014had been eradicated from the United States thanks to an effective vaccine, a robust vaccination
\nprogram and a strong public health system.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to August 2019, and more than 1,200 cases of measles have been confirmed in 30 states in 2019 alone. According to the CDC<\/a>, this is the greatest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

An increasing number of parents began declining vaccinations. Known as anti-vaxxers, vaccine-hesitant, and vaccine choice activists, the group gained momentum after Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor who has since been stripped of his medical license, published now widely disproven research linking certain vaccines to autism spectrum disorders.<\/p>\n

The medical community is fighting back.<\/p>\n

To quell the fears of hesitant parents and deliver the truth about vaccines, more physicians and other medical professionals have started employing methods used by pediatricians to communicate with parents and address their most immediate concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to learn about these conversations and what conversations work,\u201d said Susan Wootton, M.D.<\/a>, infectious disease specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is important to focus on a specific concern, she said, and then help parents understand the information around that concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a conversation that will necessarily turn the parent around immediately\u2014it might take several visits to talk about it and hear what it is they have questions about, but I think it\u2019s essential to maintain that relationship and help them find their way. It\u2019s really about being an ally,\u201d Wootton said, emphasizing the importance of patients having a medical home where there is a trusting relationship between the patient and the provider.<\/p>\n

It is also necessary to address any vaccine myths head-on by debunking them first, then labeling them, stating why they are not true, and finally replacing the myth with accurate information, she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to provide them with the truth that fills in that biggest concern,\u201d Wootton said.<\/p>\n

Finally, she cited a shift in language termed the \u201cpresumptive approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is when a doctor comes in and says, \u2018Today we\u2019re going to do your flu shot,\u2019 rather than coming in and saying, \u2018Do you want to have your flu shot?\u2019\u201d Wootton explained. \u201cA presumptive framing is more effective than the ask, and that\u2019s a simple thing to train providers on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In August, STAT News<\/em> published a story<\/a> about an initiative in Qu\u00e9bec that stationed a new workforce of vaccine counselors in maternity wards. Their goal was to employ a \u201cno-pressure strategy,\u201d using a technique called motivational interviewing to speak to parents about their opinions about vaccinations and then offer to answer any questions or concerns they may have.<\/p>\n

Other methods are in the works. At the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases<\/a>, Saad B. Omer, MBBS, Ph.D.<\/a>, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health<\/a>, encouraged pediatricians to frame the conversation in a way that focuses on the disease and its potential consequences rather than the safety of vaccines, according to a June article published in Pediatric News<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But one of the issues at hand is not simply how the conversations are being framed, but if a meaningful conversation can take place at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost parents aren\u2019t deeply dug in\u2014they\u2019re just scared and inundated with misinformation, and it requires a conversation, and sometimes that can go on for 20, 30 minutes,\u201d said Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D.<\/a>, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine<\/a> and director of the Texas Children\u2019s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development at Baylor College of Medicine<\/a>. \u201cThe problem you get into is the logistics of having a 30-minute conversation in a busy pediatric practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

It makes sense, then, that the initiative in Qu\u00e9bec included a new classification of employees\u2014 rather than tacking on a time-consuming yet critical task to the caseloads of already-busy pediatricians and nurses.<\/p>\n

Agreement and divergence<\/h2>\n

The anti-vaccination movement continues to rise, in part because its members are vocal, social-media savvy and appeal to some of the most basic of human desires: that of a freedom to choose and a longing to keep loved ones safe.<\/p>\n

And therein lies the crux of the issue: While the medical community has proven time and again that vaccines are safe and effective in preventing a multitude of diseases, many vaccine-hesitant parents still conclude that the safest choice for their children is letting nature take its course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing we can all agree on is that we want our children, and we want our families, to be safe and healthy,\u201d said Rekha Lakshmanan, MHA, director of advocacy and public policy at The Immunization Partnership<\/a>, a Houston-based nonprofit that promotes vaccination through education initiatives, policy efforts and community outreach initiatives. \u201cWhere there is some divergence, however, is where and how you get the information, and what information you use to make that informed decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to experts, parents are increasingly turning to the internet as their voice of authority on the topic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of misinformation, and I think it\u2019s really hard to navigate what\u2019s out there\u2014we call it \u2018Dr. Google,\u2019\u201d Wootton said.<\/p>\n

Hotez noted that the latest data suggests there are at least 480 anti-vaccine websites, many of which are widely circulated throughout social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re more likely to download misinformation than you are real information,\u201d Hotez said. \u201cMost of the time, parents are willing to have their kids vaccinated; it\u2019s a very small percentage of parents who are deeply dug in. It\u2019s just that they\u2019re scared because they download all the misinformation, which is ubiquitous on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lakshmanan echoed Hotez\u2019s assertion that the anti-vaccination movement is small but powerful.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, people who are opposed to vaccines are a relatively small group of people, but they are extremely vocal and engaged in advocacy, and as a result of their loudness, they look and feel a lot bigger than what they really are,\u201d Lakshmanan said, adding that The Immunization Partnership urges parents to listen to their physicians rather than what they\u2019ve read online.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough physicians educate their patients, they also need to advocate for strong, sound immunization policies and educate policy makers,\u201d she added. \u201cPhysicians are not only a trusted voice to patients, they are a trusted voice to policy decision makers.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, the number of unvaccinated children in Texas is rising.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got over 64,000 kids not getting vaccinated, and these are the ones we know about\u2014we don\u2019t know anything about the home-schooled kids,\u201d Hotez said. \u201cThis issue is not going to go away any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nineteen years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declared that measles\u2014a highly contagious and potentially deadly disease\u2014had been eradicated from the United States thanks to an effective vaccine, a robust vaccination program and a strong public health system. Fast forward to August 2019, and more than 1,200 cases of measles have been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":25970,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5,383,1157,1952,90,4012,10,441],"yoast_head":"\nIn the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TMC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1072\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alexandra Becker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alexandra Becker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alexandra Becker\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ee892c47c28b157bcf0e4f841b382669\"},\"headline\":\"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\"},\"wordCount\":1157,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Baylor College of Medicine\",\"CDC\",\"McGovern Medical School\",\"measles\",\"Texas Children's Hospital\",\"The Immunization Partnership\",\"UTHealth\",\"vaccines\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\",\"name\":\"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00\",\"description\":\"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1072},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"TMC News\",\"description\":\"Leader in Collaborative Medicine and Research\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"TMC News\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/TMC_News_RGB.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/TMC_News_RGB.png\",\"width\":1303,\"height\":266,\"caption\":\"TMC News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ee892c47c28b157bcf0e4f841b382669\",\"name\":\"Alexandra Becker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cb7f70c8bc1f87914b8e0f0e941df05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cb7f70c8bc1f87914b8e0f0e941df05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Alexandra Becker\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/author\/alexandra\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News","description":"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News","og_description":"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/","og_site_name":"TMC News","article_published_time":"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1072,"url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alexandra Becker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alexandra Becker","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/"},"author":{"name":"Alexandra Becker","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ee892c47c28b157bcf0e4f841b382669"},"headline":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion","datePublished":"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/"},"wordCount":1157,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg","keywords":["Baylor College of Medicine","CDC","McGovern Medical School","measles","Texas Children's Hospital","The Immunization Partnership","UTHealth","vaccines"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/","name":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion - TMC News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg","datePublished":"2019-09-03T00:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2020-01-06T19:22:23+00:00","description":"Physicians and clinical experts are creating new strategies for talking to parents about the safety and success of vaccination.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/20170509_MMR_05.jpg","width":1500,"height":1072},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/2019\/09\/turning-the-anti-vaccination-tide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In the age of vaccine skepticism, doctors are developing a new skill: the power of persuasion"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/","name":"TMC News","description":"Leader in Collaborative Medicine and Research","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#organization","name":"TMC News","url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/TMC_News_RGB.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/TMC_News_RGB.png","width":1303,"height":266,"caption":"TMC News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/ee892c47c28b157bcf0e4f841b382669","name":"Alexandra Becker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cb7f70c8bc1f87914b8e0f0e941df05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4cb7f70c8bc1f87914b8e0f0e941df05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Alexandra Becker"},"url":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/author\/alexandra\/"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25969"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tmc.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}