What Is the Antivaxx Movement?

I usually say that there are four riders of the antiscience apocalypse – antievolucionism, rejection of the scientific consensus on climate change, anti-GMO and anti-vaccine movement. The latter, “antivaxxers”, has devastating consequences.

Anti-vaccine movement is a movement that brings together different “theorists” who are commonly opposed to vaccination-immunization practices. Vaccination is certainly one of the most important human inventions, a small thing that saved millions and millions of lives and raised the quality of life. Yet, in spite of this, the vaccines are endangered with propaganda that spreads fear and, unfortunately, the immunization rates decrease.

There are diseases that we can not prevent, and there are diseases that can be prevented. Some of these diseases, especially poliomyelitis, pertussis, and diphtheria, are not harmless and it is much cheaper to prevent them and enable children’s healthy childhood than to cure these diseases.

This movement began in the days of Edward Jenner, an English doctor who invented a vaccine against smallpox. Here it should be added that the practice of inoculation existed in some form even before Edward Jenner, but his vaccine was is the first time that someone scientifically explained how this practice works. Jenner inoculated a boy against smallpox in 1796, and in 1802 antivaxx pamphlets appeared and discussions that Jenner’s vaccine would turn human beings into cows began.

When the UK government introduced the Act on Vaccination in 1841, where vaccination of the population, especially children, was obliged and there were punishments if someone didn’t want to do this, people began to complain.

Some people, especially the clergy, considered vaccination immoral and non-Christian because vaccines came from animals. The very first anti-vaccine league was established back then, and this movement was the predecessor of today’s anti-vaccine  movement.

From then on, antivaxxers have added new causes for the opposition to vaccination and have refused to acknowledge the doctrine of the immunization. The movement itself has become a kind of subculture that attracts people of very different profiles, levels of education and political orientation.

If you thought the vaccine opponents were uneducated, you’re wrong – there are plenty of educated people and even doctors. This movement will also have some from the leftist-liberal spectrum, fighting for the “individual freedom of choice”, but it will also attract someone who is right-wing and ultra-conservative due to the association of movement with different narratives belonging to the theory of conspiracy and religion. This movement and its propaganda creates panic and widespread fear -the movement plays with the deepest human emotions – fear for ourselves and fear for our children.

If you see somewhere some of these “arguments”, it’s about anti-vaccine propaganda.