Fixing The Broken Public Sphere
Admittedly, reconciling the divided public opinions on COVID-19 vaccination policies is not a simple task. As long as social media platforms continue to not bat an eye at misinformation out of concern for their click-through rates, and governments continue to ignore structural injustices driving political radicalization, it is unlikely that vaccine resistance will be reduced without increasing polarization.
The anti-vax movement, like many other issues that have emerged during the pandemic, serves as a stark reminder that our societys public sphere is fundamentally broken. The long yet essential process of fixing it will require all of us, as responsible citizens and media users, to work collaboratively on restoring public conversation mechanisms.
Everything You Need To Know About Vaccinations
Vaccines definition
The bodys immune system helps protect against pathogens that cause infection. Most of the time, its an efficient system. It either keeps microorganisms out or tracks them down and gets rid of them.
However, some pathogens can overwhelm the immune system. When this happens, it can cause serious illness.
The pathogens most likely to cause problems are the ones the body doesnt recognize. Vaccination is a way to teach the immune system how to recognize and eliminate an organism. That way, your body is prepared if youre ever exposed.
Vaccinations are an important form of primary prevention. That means they can protect people from getting sick. Vaccinations have allowed us to control diseases that once threatened many lives, such as:
Its important that as many people as possible get vaccinated. Vaccinations dont just protect individuals. When enough people are vaccinated, it helps protect society.
This occurs through herd immunity. Widespread vaccinations make it less likely that a susceptible person will come into contact with someone who has a particular disease.
Later Vaccines And Antitoxins
Opposition to smallpox vaccination continued into the 20th century and was joined by controversy over new vaccines and the introduction of antitoxin treatment for diphtheria. Injection of horse serum into humans as used in antitoxin can cause hypersensitivity, commonly referred to as serum sickness. Moreover, the continued production of the smallpox vaccine in animals and the production of antitoxins in horses prompted anti-vivisectionists to oppose vaccination.
Diphtheria antitoxin was serum from horses that had been immunized against diphtheria, and was used to treat human cases by providing passive immunity. In 1901, antitoxin from a horse named Jim was contaminated with tetanus and killed 13 children in St. Louis, Missouri. This incident, together with nine deaths from tetanus from contaminated smallpox vaccine in Camden, New Jersey, led directly and quickly to the passing of the Biologics Control Act in 1902.
In 1955, in a tragedy known as the Cutter incident, Cutter Laboratories produced 120,000 doses of the Salk polio vaccine that inadvertently contained some live poliovirus along with inactivated virus. This vaccine caused 40,000 cases of polio, 53 cases of paralysis, and five deaths. The disease spread through the recipients’ families, creating a polio epidemic that led to a further 113 cases of paralytic polio and another five deaths. It was one of the worst pharmaceutical disasters in US history.
COVID-19
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Once You Are Fully Vaccinated You Can Start Doing More
- After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you can resume many activities that you did before the pandemic.
- CDC recommends that fully vaccinated people wear a mask in public indoor settings if they are in an area of substantial or high transmission.
- Fully vaccinated people might choose to mask regardless of the level of transmission, particularly if they or someone in their household is immunocompromised or at increased risk for severe disease, or if someone in their household is unvaccinated. People who are at increased risk for severe disease include older adults and those who have certain medical conditions, such as diabetes, overweight or obesity, and heart conditions.
What Vaccine Nationalism Means For The Coronavirus Pandemic
Ian BremmerBremmer is a foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large at TIME. He is the president of Eurasia Group, a political-risk consultancy, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and engaging coverage of international affairs. He teaches applied geopolitics at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs and his most recent book is
Theres no shortage of vaccine news lately, from breakthroughs to break-ins. As we all await a vaccine that many hope will kickstart the worlds return to normalcy, geopolitics is increasingly spilling over into the vaccine race, seriously complicating matters. Welcome to vaccine nationalism.
Why It Matters:
What Happens Next:
The U.S. has been one of the most aggressive pursuing scenario #3 , already making moves to lockdown much of the worlds supply of remdesivir and, most recently, striking a $1.95 billion deal with Pfizer and a German biotech company to purchase 100 million doses of a vaccine already under development . Traditional US allies with the resources have been making their own bets and locking in their own stockpiles U.S. opponents have attempted to do the same, and have shown an increasing willingness to resort to medical espionage, not just to speed up their own vaccine development progress but as a hedge against potential blackmail down the line.
The Key Statistic That Explains It:
The One Major Misconception About It:
The One Thing to Say About It at a Dinner Party:
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Provider Presumption And Persistence
Limited evidence suggests that a more paternalistic or presumptive approach is more likely to result in patient acceptance of vaccines during a clinic visit than a participatory approach but decreases patient satisfaction with the visit. A presumptive approach helps to establish that this is the normative choice. Similarly, one study found that the way in which physicians respond to parental vaccine resistance is important. Nearly half of initially vaccine-resistant parents accepted vaccinations if physicians persisted in their initial recommendation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released resources to aid healthcare providers in having more effective conversations with parents about vaccinations.
Patient Discussion About Vaccination
Q. Do Vaccines cause Autism? I have heard all over the news lately that the vaccines we give our children can cause Autism. Is this true? Is it dangerous? Should I vaccinate my one year old son?
A.
Q. Who Should Receive the Flu Vaccine? Should I go get vaccinated for the flu? I have been told it is advised only for certain people, so who should receive this vaccine?
A.
Q. Does the flu vaccine protect from all kinds of flu? If I get a flu vaccine does that mean I am completely protected from getting the flu?
A.
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Mrna: Teaching Our Cells To Make Their Own Vaccine
Vaccines work by training our bodies to recognize invading viruses. Traditional vaccines perform this task by introducing a dead, inactive, or modified portion of a virus into our body so that our immune system can learn to recognize and fight this foreign invader.
In the case of Modernas and Pfizer-BioNTech’s mRNA vaccines, we are not injected with a whole virus or even a piece. Instead, we are supplied mRNA that instructs our cells to make a version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. These instructions teach our cells to become their own vaccine manufacturing plants.
In the lab, scientists create synthetic mRNA containing the spike protein sequence. This encoded information is delivered through the jab, and it instructs some of our cells to manufacture spike proteins. The spike proteins trigger our immune cells to assemble antibodies capable of recognizing them. If the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the virus behind COVID-19, infects a vaccinated person, then the trained antibodies sound an alarm, leading to an immune response to fend off the infection.
The fundamental idea behind using a vaccine to teach a bodys immune system dates back over 200 years, but the use of mRNA is a recent development. Compared to other methods, mRNA leads the way in both speed and flexibility.
Is The Moderna Booster Shot A Third Dose
Booster shots of COVID-19 vaccines are currently half doses of the same vaccine used in the first two full shots. The goal is to top up the vaccine formula that reinforces the body’s immune response against the virus and its variants. The Moderna booster authorized by the CDC is a 50-microgram dose, while the first two shots were each 100 micrograms.
Moderna is also working on a combination shot that contains this year’s flu vaccine and its COVID-19 booster vaccine, but that’s not available right now.
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Cia Fake Vaccination Clinic
In Pakistan, the CIA ran a fake vaccination clinic in an attempt to locate Osama bin Laden. As a direct consequence, there have been several attacks and deaths among vaccination workers. Several Islamist preachers and militant groups, including some factions of the Taliban, view vaccination as a plot to kill or sterilize Muslims. Efforts to eradicate polio have furthermore been disrupted by American drone strikes. This is part of the reason Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where polio remained endemic as of 2015.
The Guilt Of Realizing You Were Wrong
After discovering scientific, fact-based truths, parents who “switch sides” can feel guilty about the stance they’ve had for years. “It’s a stark, painful realization when you realize the danger you actually were to not only society as a whole, but especially our kids,” says Kristina*, another parent in the Back to the Vax group, from New Mexico.
Another realization is how important it is to have an understanding community. Many who have become pro-vaccine have lost friends and faced family criticism, says Anita. Social groups like the Back to the Vax group offer a much-needed place to turn to. Some group members say other pro-vaccine groups they’ve joined lack the understanding and support they get from Back to the Vax.
“It’s different coming from a person who’s never questioned vaccines, who’s always been pro-vaccine,” says Anita. The anxiety over vaccines a person once felt doesn’t just disappear. For example, in the lead-up to her infant son’s first vaccines, Anita says, “I was awake all night, I was crying, I was praying, I was having funerals in my head.”
Yet those who have always been pro-vaccine may not understand the fear that can still unwillingly linger for group members who, like all parents, fear harming their child in any way. “I understand how strong that anxiety is, and we’re not the average person in terms of that,” says Greene. “We’ve kind of been brainwashed and it is a lot like leaving a cult.”
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Who’s Opposed To The Mandate
Since the White House announced federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates affecting roughly two-thirds of the US workforce, or up to 100 million people, it has received a backlash from congressional Republicans, as well as state and local officials.
Republican governors have threatened to fight the administration’s new policies. Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the senior Republican on the House of Representatives committee overseeing health policy, said Biden “is using fear, control and mandates.” The Republican National Committee has vowed to sue the Biden administration over the vaccine mandate.
Ten states — Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota and New Hampshire — challenged the vaccine mandate for health care workers.
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sept. 17 shows that unvaccinated people were over 10 times more likely to become hospitalized or die from COVID-19, according to data from April through July: “Getting vaccinated protects against severe illness from COVID-19, including the delta variant.”
Some companies that fall under the new vaccine mandate are facing challenges and questions about compliance and implementation of the policy, according to The Wall Street Journal. For example, businesses have to figure out who will be responsible for covering the cost of testing unvaccinated employees and whether they can authorize exemptions.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Sudden infant death syndrome is most common in infants around the time in life when they receive many vaccinations. Since the cause of SIDS has not been fully determined, this led to concerns about whether vaccines, in particular diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccines, were a possible causal factor. Several studies investigated this and found no evidence supporting a causal link between vaccination and SIDS. In 2003, the Institute of Medicine favored rejection of a causal link to DTwP vaccination and SIDS after reviewing the available evidence. Additional analyses of VAERS data also showed no relationship between vaccination and SIDS. Studies have shown a negative correlation between SIDs and vaccination. That is vaccinated children are less likely to die but no causal link has been found. One suggestion is that infants who are less likely to suffer SIDS are more likely to be presented for vaccination.
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Gender And Socioeconomic Status
A comprehensive research paper by UNICEF in 2013 titled Tracking anti-vaccination sentiment in eastern European social media networks found that females are more likely to discuss developmental disabilities, chemical, toxins and potential side effects whereas males are more likely to discuss conspiracy theories, religion and distrust of the government.
Across all genders and all SES, we saw no significant differences in knowledge or beliefs. This is significant to note because as previous literature and this one found, women are the predominant social media users. Since gender and SES have no impact on vaccine knowledge or beliefs we look deeper into other variables.
The Radicalization Of The Anti
Since the start of mass COVID-19 vaccinations in early 2020, the public health sector has been closely monitoring an unusually high level of resistance among a small section of the population. Unlike prior vaccination hesitancy, the current anti-vax movement cannot be explained by a lack of information or illogical thinking, especially in light of the significant press coverage and public health initiatives over the last several months.
Scholars have resorted to the solution aversion model to account for the growing political division around vaccination. According to this model, individuals with divergent political ideologies perceive social issues differently because of their inherent aversion to specific solutions. In the case of vaccine passports, its implementation depends on stringent government regulations, which are deeply unpopular among many far-right individuals.
Additionally, our fragmented media environment further fosters solution aversion by promoting motivated reasoning. With todays media audiences being trapped in algorithm-based digital echo chambers, it is increasingly typical for individuals to interact exclusively with like-minded media sources and other internet users, resulting in biased information absorption.
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Factors Contributing To Vaccine Hesitancy
A distinction must be drawn between vaccine hesitancy and the current anti-vax movement, as the latters agenda has been hijacked by far-right groups.
Previous study has identified a variety of factors contributing to peoples vaccination hesitancy, such as community trauma, scientific scepticism and political beliefs. Some Indigenous communities concerns about COVID-19 vaccines, for instance, come from instances of medical experimentation.
Meanwhile, errors made during pro-vaccine communications may raise additional concerns about vaccination safety and efficacy. Consider the public uncertainty and outrage over the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations contradictory messages regarding AstraZeneca.
Research on vaccine hesitancy around the world has demonstrated that a number of contributing factors to vaccine hesitation are directly linked to a persistent decline in public trust in institutions and government policy. In recent years, this trend, along with escalating political polarization, has shaped the anti-vaccine movement into its current form.
Why We Need To Start A New Pro
We are living through extraordinary times. Yet, just as its difficult to notice whether your hair has grown when you see it every day, it is easy to underestimate the nature and scale of the societal changes we are experiencing globally. Can you remember the exact moment when getting into an unmarked car with a stranger transformed from risky behaviour to lift-sharing and a reliable way to get from A to B? And when did you stop waiting until the morning newspaper or evening news to get an accurate update on whats happening in the world and start checking online news outlets? Finally, when was the last time you went to a doctor without first checking your symptoms with Dr Google or your friends on Facebook?
There are other more concerning changes too. We are experiencing a slow and subtle downward shift in societys reliance on and trust in governmental and non-governmental institutions, traditional industries, experts and even science itself a shift being amplified, expedited and complicated by modern technology.
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Vaccine Criticism And Health Care Providers
Health care providers are known to be influential in shaping vaccine uptake for infants, children, adolescents, and adults. When health care providers communicate effectively with parents about vaccine benefits and risks, the value and need for vaccinations, and vaccine safety, parents are more confident in their decisions . However, to do this well, health care providers need to be confident themselves about the safety, effectiveness, and importance of vaccination .
For most people, mainstream physicians and nurses have been found to be the most trusted source for vaccine information . However, some vaccine-hesitant individuals have found it difficult to have an open discussion about vaccination with their physician and report feeling alienated when vaccines are discussed. In contrast, vaccine-hesitant individuals reported that discussions about vaccination with CAM providers were more in line with their perception of an ideal consultation , and individuals perceived the vaccination information transmitted by CAM providers to be more understandable, useful, and trustworthy . Reciprocally, many health care providers find conversations about vaccines with vaccine-hesitant parents to be difficult and unproductive .