Researchers generally refer to people who do not follow the standard advice of health professionals about vaccines, by either refusing or delaying some or all vaccines, as vaccine hesitant. Today, vaccine hesitancy is most famously associated with the Make America Healthy Again movement and its standard-bearer, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
But vaccine-hesitant groups are particularly adept at using narrative to craft compelling, nerve-wracking or highly emotion-driven stories of doctors ignoring patient concerns and children developing devastating health conditions after getting vaccinated.
What makes these stories the secret weapons of vaccine hesitancy is that they often are not actually about vaccines at all. When vaccines become detached from medicine, they can function like a symbol or a metaphor in a story, reflecting a worldview that encompasses much more than medicine and is fueled by nonmedical anxieties. These stories use narrative strategies, including some drawn from film and literature, to undermine vaccine confidence.
First, there is recall bias. People remember the one guy who had a bad reaction. They forget the 999 999 who didn't and say "See! This guy suffered!"
ReplyDeleteSecond, there's a level of irrationality to it. Lots of anti-vaxxers are in MAGA, yet Trump was one of the biggest boosters of getting the vaccine.
It's like Queers for Palestine. You just can comprehend stupid.