Anti-vaxxers need to be called out for their movement to be stopped

By Alma Fabiani

Updated May 19, 2020 at 03:43 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

2368

Anti-vaxxers, also known as people who are opposed to vaccination, typically a parent who refuses to vaccinate their child, must be stopped. The anti-vaccination movement, which continues to grow, is a main source of worry for scientists who are sure vaccines work, but it should also be one for the rest of us. Measles (among other diseases) is on the rise once again, and reviews found that there is a correlation between the two problems. Here’s what is wrong with anti-vaxxers and what needs to be done.

The anti-vaccination movement comes from the idea that there’s a connection between vaccination and autism, as well as other brain disorders. This idea rests upon no scientific evidence, but as you’ve probably realised by now, the same can be said about many other beliefs in our increasingly disbelieving world.

David_Rodriguez

Measles is a disease more contagious than Tuberculosis or Ebola, yet it is easily preventable with a vaccine that barely costs anything. When measles was declared to be eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, everyone thought—rightly so—that it was thanks to vaccines. And yet here we are, in 2019, with parents knowingly withholding their children from something that could save them from potential brain damage and death. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018 measles cases in the U.S. went up six-fold while they tripled across Europe.

The situation is so bad that even Trump, who only a year ago ‘flirted’ with notorious anti-vaxxers and repeatedly linked vaccinations to autism, declared that people “have to get their shots”. In other words, if even Trump takes these outbreaks seriously, this is not something to disregard. This entirely preventable emergency that started in March this year should be a lesson to everyone about how unfortunate a world without vaccines would be.

A few months after the outbreak, anti-vaxxers are still going strong, lowering herd immunity quickly. In the U.K., Prince Charles’ mission to save homeopathy is reenforcing the public’s distrust in medical science. How? By promoting homeopathy as a miracle remedy, one that hasn’t been provided by the NHS since 2017 and has been described by its chief executive Simon Stevens as “at best a placebo and a misuse of scarce NHS funds”.

https://twitter.com/GaviSeth/status/834414225263095812

The anti-vaccination movement comes exactly from the growing public distrust of vaccines, but also in science, in the government, and in the pharmaceutical industry more broadly. So what can we do, really, apart from making vaccines mandatory for everyone? Tackling fake news and misinformation, especially fake medical news on social media, would be a first step.

In March 2016, even Robert De Niro dabbled in this affair by promoting the anti-vaccination documentary Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe and pushing for the film to be featured in the Tribeca Film Festival. A few days after, De Niro decided not to include the film, most likely realising the larger-scale impact that this could have on the country’s already declining health.

Lastly, it shouldn’t be forgotten that more people are involved in the whole vaccination drama and therefore should be held accountable. Health professionals have to take accountability or be made to do so in this matter as well. We need to ensure that doctors giving shots are equipped with concrete information and available to talk to those who have concerns, so that parents can feel like they’re making well-informed decisions.

Conspiracy theories are fine and should be left alone to thrive on Reddit as long as they’re not hurting people in the process. People that don’t make the effort to promote vaccination are unknowingly allowing anti-vaxxers to do their damage. Anti-vaxxers should be called out—by the government, by doctors, by you, me—so that putting kids’ vaccination ‘on hold’ becomes shocking and taboo again. It’s a matter of life and death.

Keep On Reading

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Sex Education actor found guilty of 26 sex offenses, including abuse of minors

By Charlie Sawyer

BrewDog co-founder James Watt’s problematic past resurfaces amid work/life balance controversy

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Israel’s controversial ban on UNRWA: Examining the legal fallout and humanitarian consequences

By Abby Amoakuh

Move over manosphere, TikTok girlies are embracing the carnivore diet and becoming meatfluencers

By Charlie Sawyer

The Guardian missed the mark. Here’s a truly relatable list of British shared experiences

By Charlie Sawyer

The 3 wildest fan theories about Severance season 2

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Argentina’s President Javier Milei cloned his late dog, but where’s the fifth one he claims to have?

By Charlie Sawyer

How Florida’s hurricanes could sway the presidential election. And what officials are doing to keep voters safe

By Erika Mané

Why bleach your brows when you can shave them off entirely? Unpacking Gen Z’s favourite beauty trend 

By Abby Amoakuh

What to expect from Molly-Mae Hague’s new Amazon Prime docuseries, Molly-Mae: Behind it All

By Charlie Sawyer

What is Liam’s Law? Fans start petition to protect musicians’ mental health following One Direction star’s death

By Abby Amoakuh

Matt Rife defends past controversy (again) as new special Lucid lands on Netflix

By Charlie Sawyer

From Page 3 to Gen Z icon: Why Katie Price captured our hearts

By Charlie Sawyer

What is gay face? YouTubers claim a person’s sexuality can be identified by facial features

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Fans rally around Sabrina Carpenter after YouTuber Hannah Pearl Davis labels her catfish of the year

By Abby Amoakuh

The Menendez brothers star in new documentary to hit back at Ryan Murphy’s Monsters

By Fatou Ferraro Mboup

Did Justin Bieber unfollow Usher on Instagram because of his former ties to Diddy?

By Charlie Sawyer

Project 2025 requires reporting of pregnancy loss due to chemotherapy

By Charlie Sawyer

Utah’s decision to ban A Court of Thorns and Roses proves that free thinking is off the table in the US

By Charlie Sawyer

Under The Influence podcast tried to publicly diss Drew Afualo and instantly regretted it