"Will the vax be exposed for causing excess deaths?"No wonder there's so much
vaccine hesitancy these days, and not just for the Covid vaccines.
Quote:One of the main factors leading to hesitancy towards COVID vaccines specifically has been concern that the vaccines were developed too quickly. However, we know that COVID vaccines are safe and effective.
In our research on attitudes to COVID vaccines, my colleagues and I found that concerns over side-effects, distrust in government and a belief in conspiracy theories all increased hesitancy. And hesitancy around COVID shots could also lead to hesitancy “spillover” for other vaccines.
The Unicef report similarly notes that reduced trust in authorities, as well as the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media, are growing challenges to public perceptions of vaccines.
Quote:Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve seen widespread misinformation around the safety of COVID vaccines, which has unsurprisingly been linked to reduced confidence in the vaccines.
The problem with misinformation is how intractible it can be. Myths, conspiracies or falsehoods about vaccines can be hard to shake. For example, the infamous 1998 study falsely linking MMR vaccines to autism – long since retracted and completely debunked – still has negative effects 25 years later. This can be seen in the conspiracy theories espoused by prominent anti-vax voices in high-income countries like the US, and in hesitancy felt by ordinary parents in much less wealthy countries such as Kyrgyzstan.
The antivaxxer nutters have a lot to answer for, including the many deaths caused by "vaccine hesitancy". Governments (including ours) are also responsible - especially in regards to Covid ("the pandemic is over", "Covid is now just like any other respiratory illness", etc., etc.).