Are anti-vaccine people conspiracy theorists generally?

Nurses General Nursing

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I have an old friend from years ago who I now keep in touch with on Facebook. Her posts are fascinating in the amazing variety of conspiracy theories, some outrageous, some maybe partially true. She's a big believer that cannabis oil will cure just about anything and that information of course is being suppressed by the drug companies and the government.

She blames many, if not all, health problems on vaccines. She also subscribes to some disturbing anti-Semitic ideologies, blaming the network of high powered Jews, led by the evil Rothschild family.

I swear, the internet has turned slightly eccentric people into extremists. 30 years ago this woman was into macrobiotics, native Americans, and New Age philosophies.

Well, I see that it's once again time to post the Boston Globe article about how presenting actual facts often doesn't change people's minds. You're wasting your time, folks (as we do every year around this time, when the anti-vaxxers all rise up in their indignation and outrage about the flu shot).

Recently, a few political scientists have begun to discover a human tendency deeply discouraging to anyone with faith in the power of information. It's this: Facts don't necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite. In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger ...

"The general idea is that it's absolutely threatening to admit you're wrong," says political scientist Brendan Nyhan, the lead researcher on the Michigan study. The phenomenon - known as "backfire" - is "a natural defense mechanism to avoid that cognitive dissonance" ...

Most of us like to believe that our opinions have been formed over time by careful, rational consideration of facts and ideas, and that the decisions based on those opinions, therefore, have the ring of soundness and intelligence. In reality, we often base our opinions on our beliefs, which can have an uneasy relationship with facts. And rather than facts driving beliefs, our beliefs can dictate the facts we chose to accept. They can cause us to twist facts so they fit better with our preconceived notions. Worst of all, they can lead us to uncritically accept bad information just because it reinforces our beliefs. This reinforcement makes us more confident we're right, and even less likely to listen to any new information.

How facts backfire - The Boston Globe

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ ER/ homecare.

If your referring to me, i never said i was anti-vaccine. My children are up to date on all of their vaccines. I am required to receive a round of vaccines again for employment purposes in the future even though I show immunity for things such as MMR and that's fine. I routinely give patients their flu shots. I have never said to any of those patients "hey, would you like to know how I feel about the flu shot?" I love science and have always excelled in it. My husband has never gotten the flu shot by his own choice. If tomorrow he decided to get it, well good for him. I will be required to get it next year, and that's fine.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
Well, I see that it's once again time to post the Boston Globe article about how presenting actual facts often doesn't change people's minds. You're wasting your time, folks (as we do every year around this time, when the anti-vaxxers all rise up in their indignation and outrage about the flu shot).

Oh, hush. I prefer to remain a bliss ninny, forever believing that logic and reason can prevail.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

I know it won't convince people, and as I already stated legislation requiring mandatory vaccination is the only thing that significantly improves public vaccination rates.

What I hate is constantly having misinformation from antivaxxers all over the internet, and it's also sad that I have to defend nursing as a profession because someone finds comments like the ones on here from some nurses showing that they have no concept of science or evidence based practices.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
If your referring to me, i never said i was anti-vaccine. My children are up to date on all of their vaccines. I am required to receive a round of vaccines again for employment purposes in the future even though I show immunity for things such as MMR and that's fine. I routinely give patients their flu shots. I have never said to any of those patients "hey, would you like to know how I feel about the flu shot?" I love science and have always excelled in it. My husband has never gotten the flu shot by his own choice. If tomorrow he decided to get it, well good for him. I will be required to get it next year, and that's fine.

If your children or you weren't required to get any vaccinations even though they were recommended would you still get them or pick and choose?

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ ER/ homecare.
If your children or you weren't required to get any vaccinations even though they were recommended would you still get them or pick and choose?

Absolutely. In fact, I think autism and the vaccine debate was a hot topic when my kids were small and they were vaccinated. I never even thought about if it was mandatory or not, wasn't an issue for me.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Yes I understand this. However the effectiveness of the flu vaccine vs some others are quite different, which is why I feel the way I do for for my own vaccination choices.

I don't disagree with you that the efficacy of the IIV is less than that of some other vaccines (and the NNT is higher), that being said, it has a well-demonstrated safety profile as well.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ ER/ homecare.
I don't disagree with you that the efficacy of the IIV is less than that of some other vaccines (and the NNT is higher), that being said, it has a well-demonstrated safety profile as well.

I agree with you as well. I honestly think the biggest fault I find is in the way it is marketed. patients should be aware of the statistics on how effective it may be. some people actually think it is almost fully protective, and then when they get the flu, they think they got it from the vaccine, which isn't the case.

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Specializes in OB-Gyn/Primary Care/Ambulatory Leadership.
patients should be aware of the statistics on how effective it may be. some people actually think it is almost fully protective, and then when they get the flu, they think they got it from the vaccine, which isn't the case.

All of that information is available on the VIS, which, by federal law, all patients should receive prior to getting the vaccine.

And as nurses, it is our responsibility, before giving the vaccine, to explain that all to them, including the fact that one cannot get influenza from the injectable vaccine.

The flu vaccine isn't "marketed" per se. Any information that people receive about the flu shot, is likely what their physician and/or nurse is telling them. Which is why some of the misinformation you wrote in your previous posts is somewhat alarming to many of us, because it suggests a lack of understanding of what the flu shot is (and isn't).

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Specializes in Med-Surg/ ER/ homecare.

Again, I have never misinformed anyone about the flu shot.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.
ASD is most likely genetic in nature with multiple genes involved.

Causes - Autism Society

It is unlikely that anti-vaccine crowd will ever disappear. They have literally been around for over 150 years.

History of Anti-vaccination Movements | History of Vaccines

The only way to reduce the anti-vaccine/conspiracy theory people is to prioritize science in our public schools and government.

Yup. There are also studies that suggest that older men are more likely to produce children with autism due to lower quality sperm. It has nothing to do with vaccines.

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I listen to Doctor Radio on Sirius XM. These are scientists/doctor who are certified, bonafied, medical scientist and doctors with many many years of practice and education. I'm sorry but I CANNOT abide lay people, and even worse nurses or other doctors who think these dedicated scientists/doctors are what????? Lying, have an evil plot to kill all humans? It brings me to tears to think of all the years these scientists have dedicated towards their specialty to have some layperson not believe them!

It has been proven, studied, evidences based practice, that even if the flu shot is not 100% effective and or not exactly designed for the type of flu virus, even if you still do get the flu, your symptoms will be milder than people who did not get the vaccine.

I am as serious as a heart attack....I think people watch "it's the end of the world as we know it movies", (which by the way I love), about GMO foods turning people into zombies or vampires, a vaccination gone wrong turning children into killers, mutant ants escaping from a scientific laboratory and devouring people, etc. and come away thinking....."that could happen, scientists don't really know everything" etc.

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