One of my family, and former nurse, is against at least mRNA vaccines, but she also fell down the far right conspiracy theory rabbithole so…

This started in the UK in the 90s with a research paper by Andrew Wakefield linking MMR (measle mumps rubella) vaccines to autism. It was trash research but it for published in the Lancet (a major international journal) before being retracted once other doctors pointed out the massive flaws in the research.

There was and is no evidence of causation - autism happens to be diagnosed usually after childhood vaccines are conpleted but thats because vaccines are mostly in young ages and it takes a while for autism to be diagnosable as its only obvious once children reach a certain age when the socialization aspects of the diseases become more obviously.

However despite it being trash research and eventually being withdrawn, the damage was done. Enough parents of children with autism wanted to believe that this disease was inflicted upon them and have someone to blame rather than accept it is largely genetic and bad luck. A perhaps understandable feeling but that gave an opening for conspiracy theorists to blame the government for a “cover up” even though all the counter evidence and push pack is evidence based and freely unavailable.

Andrew Wakefield eventually got struck off the UK medical register - he was found to have had undisclosed financial interests that would make him millions in selling bogus test kits. The real conspiracy was his but Hes managed to move to the US and make a career as a “victim” and “outsider” to the pharmacy industry.

This whole vaccine conspiracy has been taken up with the US right wing and religious groups. Its a perfect conspiracy for them as it plays into the ideas of the US federal “forcing” then to do things against their will. In this case vaccinating children (which depends on a majority of children getting vaccinated to protect the whole population - herd immunity) and is used as an example of “socialism” vs their preferred extreme individualism. They already rail against being told they cannot indoctrinate children by lying about science in schools (trying to suppress evolution teaching etc) or use the states infrastructure to discriminate against groups they disagree with such as gay or trans people, or be downright racist asis often seen throughout the bible belt.

So the vaccine conspiracy theory is basically one of many tools used by the right wing and religious allies to rail against supposed state interference in their lives. Instead most people who believe in this nonsense are either extremely ignorant and easily manipulated or deliberately using the nonsense to further their own goals. So some of these people are highly intelligent and don’t care whether this is true or false - only that it aligns with their world view and goals so they dont challenge it. Some will even know its all bullshit and go along with it to further their own goals.

The covid vaccines has supercharged this debate. The roll out of vaccines with massively reduced testing and safety steps to try and control the pandemic, and then the side effects seen has all helped fuel this conspiracy and grow it within the right wing echo chamber.

There is no evidence whatsoever that vaccination causes autism. However parents are refusing to have their children vaccinated with MMR and now you have outbreaks of diseases like Measles in the US. People will die, people will become infetile - all from a disease that is easily prevented by a vaccine.

Tl:dr: The vaccine conspiracy is a right wing aligned nonsense started in the 90s andnuper charged by covid, and is a sign of the extremely polarised and disinformation heavy nature of right wing US politics (and is seen in other western countries if you dig into it even if fringe stuff)

He may not be joking. My family and people I interact with don’t think vaccinations cause autism. I’m happy to have never experienced or known of anyone getting measles, polio or other ailments most everyone my age have been protected from thanks to vaccines.

Sadly some here believe the lies spread by those who for some bizarre reason are against vaccines. There’s a measles outbreak right now in Texas and New Mexico that’s affecting around 99 people so far. Last year across the US there were 285 cases. Before the fairly recent anti-vaccination crowd formed measles were officially eradicated in 2000.

Now our country’s health leader, RFK (aka worm brain), is one of the assholes against vaccinations. Sad time for sure but we’re not all like this.

Yes, there are genuine idiots in this country that are against vaccination.

There are also a plethora of foreign idiots and trolls spreading misinformation about everything including stances on vaccination. Judging by the quotation you shared it’s impossible to tell if that is an actual person’s thought, though, because it is not written in English.

Not just America, up here in Canada too. It’s real.

We very, very much wish it were just a joke. Diseases that were basically eliminated in the US are making a comeback. And we just appointed an antivaxxer as our health secretary, who also has proposed sending people on antidepressants and ADHD drugs to work camps for years to “re-parent” them.

It’s fucking terrifying here right now, at least for anyone paying attention.

Yes, People are stupid.

They rather believe one discredited doctor that lied because he had a vested financial interest in selling his own product over the competition, and a washed up worthless husk of a failed playboy model, over their own personal history of being vaccinated, their doctors assurances, and the global medical community insisting on them not only being safe, but urgently critical to have.

Americans are some of the most stupid, and most easily propagandized people on the planet. Especially conservative Americans.

Yes. There are people who believe it. I can’t explain it, they have the education, they have the information, but for whatever reason they just want to believe a conspiracy theory instead.

Yes and it sucks.

The problem is there is a kernel of truth in it.

I had a nephew get vaxxed 25-30 years ago and it was a bad batch. He got autism. Now disabled for life his mother sued the state and won.

She had the choice of a payout or disability care for life for him. She chose the care because he needs it after she’s gone.

Now cases like these are fuel for nutjobs to say vaccines today cause autism…

Get your shots people. Medicine saves life’s and saves your baby’s life. If your child dies due to you being an anti-vaxxer you should be charged for negligence.

You answered your question with the 4th word!

It’s a difficult problem to sum up because there are so many reasons this is happening, and I don’t think it’s all malicious.

At the core there is a general disrespect for any authority in American culture and it’s easy to believe stories that a government-mandated medical intervention is somehow not as safe as they say.

It doesn’t help that there have been government programs in the past that were harmful and the knowledge was only made public after it was too late. Very few people believe the government has the people’s best interest in mind.

Individuals are only capable of understanding a very limited amount at one time, and rely on their tribe to inform them of almost everything else. These days there’s a tsunami of information that is impossible to process completely. So it’s just human nature to trust a small selection of sources and does usually offer a survival advantage.

So it’s not hard to see how smart people can fall for misinformation especially when they are inclined to doubt authority.

There are more than a few mentally defective folks that believe vaccines cause a variety of maladies.

Some anti-vax people I know personally are my boss, 2 of the office trolls, the guy in the garage, the stinky guy who sits next to me, my friend’s mom, etc etc. People are fucking stupid yo.

gulps

A neighbor told me that even though her now-adult children had no side effects if she could go back and decide to not vaccinate them instead, she would