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Opinion: Don’t believe headlines saying that vaccine skepticism is widespread
Two years ago, I wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine that one of the greatest threats to childhood vaccination is the normalization of skepticism, even though it isn’t actually the norm. When credible outlets, trusted voices, and social media algorithms tell the public that most Americans doubt vaccines, some may start to wonder if they should, too. I watched that play out this week.
On Monday, Politico published a poll on vaccine attitudes titled, “More Americans doubt vaccine safety than trust it, Politico Poll finds,” followed by the subhead, “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views are commonplace across the land.” I consider Politico a reputable news outlet, so this headline stopped me in my tracks.
Two years ago, I wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine that one of the greatest threats to childhood vaccination is the normalization of skepticism, even though it isn’t actually the norm. When credible outlets, trusted voices, and social media algorithms tell the public that most Americans doubt vaccines, some may start to wonder if they should, too. I watched that play out this week.
On Monday, Politico published a poll on vaccine attitudes titled, “More Americans doubt vaccine safety than trust it, Politico Poll finds,” followed by the subhead, “Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views are commonplace across the land.” I consider Politico a reputable news outlet, so this headline stopped me in my tracks.