We’ve known since at least 2019 that the measles virus can effectively erase immunity to diseases contracted earlier. So we might survive measles only to contract opportunistic infections we’ve had before and thought we’d beaten… including COVID-19.
And we now know that repeated COVID-19 infections, however “mild,” can increase the likelihood of long COVID — which can do serious damage to the brain, heart, gut and kidneys. Statistics Canada estimates that 3.5 million Canadians have had long COVID symptoms, and in June 2023 half of those still reported no improvement. More than two in five were still experiencing long COVID symptoms a year after infection.
But a whole bunch of us just don’t give a shit about anyone except ourselves.
So go ahead deniers … lose all your immunity to the flu, colds, chicken pox, polio, etc etc etc and see how you like it.
I don’t think that’s true. I work closely with a lot of different families in my job, and due to the demographics of my job, we get a reasonable section of anti-vaxxers. Most of them you wouldn’t be able to pull out of a lineup. They care about their kids, they contribute to their communities, and they’re just trying to get through whatever challenges they have to get through each day.
I would put the root causes as distrust and fear. Distrust of government, systems, the media, etc. and fear of what they don’t understand, so they look for some explanations that align with their emotions.
So, for instance, vaccines hurt, don’t make sense (they don’t understand the science), and make their kids cry, so they’re very emotionally invested in not liking them. Then anyone confirming their distrust and supporting their emotions will easily sway them, so they swallow anti-vaxx messages whole.
Same thing for anti 2SLGBTQ+ sentiment; they think trans people are “icky”, have an emotional response to it, and are then primed for any conspiracy theory that confirms their distrust of the system (education system, in this case) and gives them an excuse to justify their emotional response. It resolves their cognitive dissonance.
But a whole bunch of us just don’t give a shit about anyone except ourselves.
So go ahead deniers … lose all your immunity to the flu, colds, chicken pox, polio, etc etc etc and see how you like it.
I think it’s the opposite.
People who “don’t believe in vaccines” don’t care about themselves, they actually hate themselves, and quite possibly their family.
For them, not getting a vaccine is like chain-smoking around people. They don’t care about anyone by that point.
The real tragedy is that their actions have consequences for people who love their lives and want to be safe and healthy.
I don’t think that’s true. I work closely with a lot of different families in my job, and due to the demographics of my job, we get a reasonable section of anti-vaxxers. Most of them you wouldn’t be able to pull out of a lineup. They care about their kids, they contribute to their communities, and they’re just trying to get through whatever challenges they have to get through each day.
I would put the root causes as distrust and fear. Distrust of government, systems, the media, etc. and fear of what they don’t understand, so they look for some explanations that align with their emotions.
So, for instance, vaccines hurt, don’t make sense (they don’t understand the science), and make their kids cry, so they’re very emotionally invested in not liking them. Then anyone confirming their distrust and supporting their emotions will easily sway them, so they swallow anti-vaxx messages whole.
Same thing for anti 2SLGBTQ+ sentiment; they think trans people are “icky”, have an emotional response to it, and are then primed for any conspiracy theory that confirms their distrust of the system (education system, in this case) and gives them an excuse to justify their emotional response. It resolves their cognitive dissonance.