Being asked frequently about whether #coronavirus will make anti-vaccine activists change their mind on vaccination. Seems logical, right? Alas, no - they're claiming the virus is a hoax, & pushing 'cures' like vitamin C - which is precisely what I'd expect. Thread on why (1/n) 
The positions anti-vaxxers are taking in light of #COVID19 seem bizarre, but it's important to realise that anti-vaccine beliefs are by definition already conspiratorial - you'd have to accept all scientists / doctors are lying to you for some reason (2/n)
..this is crux of the issue. Vaccine denialism isn't a logical position; it's IDEOLOGICAL one. It's a form of motivated reasoning - start with a conclusion ("vaccines are bad") and then bend reality to try & justify that belief. Here's a little from #IrrationalApe on it (3/n)
Why are some anti-vaccine activists? A variety of reasons - psychological research suggests many aligned with a trait we see in conspiracy theorists - narcissism. To believe you know better than others appeals to one's ego, makes them feel powerful. But still alas wrong - (4/n)
You cannot be an anti-vaccine activist WITHOUT being a conspiracy theorist. So why is the vitamin C / homeopathy / etc claims not surprising either? Because of what the philosopher WV Quine called our Web of belief - from #IrrationalApe, quoting the awesome @AlanLevinovitz (5/n)
For this reason, anti-vaccine activists tend also to be believers in 'natural' cures. It evidently runs both ways; one study by @EdzardErnst found that 87% of homeopaths were opposed to vaccination. Anyway, back to main point... (6/n)
So being anti-vaccine is an ideological position, not one rooted in evidence. They have ALREADY accepted a massive conspiracy theory that has spanned centuries. What's another massive pandemic to them? Just another conspiracy to weave into their twisted central narrative (7/n)
In conclusion, the anti-vaccine movement is not one rooted in reason, and it's hopeless to expect evidence to shift their position. To do so mistakes their motivations, and treats their positions as potentially rational - which is a mistake, I'm afraid. (8/n)
Finally, if you'd like to know more about why we get things so horribly wrong in everything from politics to medicine, I've written a book on precisely that - #IrrationalApe is in bookstores, and here if you like! (9/9) amazon.co.uk/Irrational-Ape…
