Rise of the Red Anti-Vaxxers (Cason Neill #11)

ALERT: The Anti-Vaccination movement has found a new host. 

The Anti-Vaccination Movement became prevalent centuries ago as a small population of ignorant and radically religious people. After decades of scientific discoveries and easier access to education, the vast majority of Americans trusted modern medicine. The trend of vaccinated individuals was increasing steadily until the early 1980s when celebrities began to pump paranoia into mainstream media, claiming that vaccines administered to children caused them to mutate. An insurgence began and lasted about 25 years, and the Anti-Vaxxers were left to seemly die out. Then, COVID-19 was born.

After this moment, the entire roster changed. The Anti-Vaccination Movement, previously led by left-wing celebrities, was now made up almost entirely of right-wing conspiracy theorists. During the deadly Covid-19 pandemic, the vaccine need was more significant than ever. Pharmaceutical companies raced to create a safe and efficient vaccination. In less than a year, a vaccine was created and approved by the FDA.

Many conservatives were skeptical of the new vaccines, and because the vaccines were authorized under the Biden Administration, the right-wing skeptics vehemently rejected the vaccines. They also spun some pretty hilarious theories about the vaccines. 

The vaccine was a Bill Gates-funded project that sought to place trackable microchips within people.

The vaccine would make people magnetic.

The vaccine would alter the recipients' DNA. 

In Eula Biss's book "On Immunity: An Innoculation" she states, "The belief that public health measures are not intended for people like us is widely held by many people like me. Public health, we assume, is for people with less—less education, less-healthy habits, less access to quality health care, less time and money. I have heard mothers of my class suggest, for instance, that the standard childhood immunization schedule groups together multiple shots because poor mothers will not visit the doctor frequently enough to get the twenty-six recommended shots separately. No matter that any mother, myself included, might find so many visits daunting. That, we seem to be saying of the standard schedule, is for people like them."

Those were just some of my favorites. Even though it has been almost two years since the vaccine was first developed and proven successful, the right-wing conspiracy theorists have not abandoned their ridiculous claims. Nearly 20 percent of the United States population are still unvaccinated. Though they might not know it, these people are dangerous to themselves and others around them. Without vaccinations, they are susceptible to Covid-19 and can more easily transmit the virus. The Anti-Vaccination Movement might have found its forever home.