If John had been paying attention to the antivaccine movement for two decades (or even just a few years) he wouldn’t ask questions like this. He would also understand that the politicization of vaccine mandates started years before the pandemic, starting with school mandates. 1/
https://twitter.com/drjohnm/status/1435028037595275264
Basically, when antivaxxers figured out several years ago that messages of “freedom,” “parental rights,” and resistance to government mandates resonated with right wing groups, the die was cast. 2/ respectfulinsolence.com/2017/07/07/vac…
And a bit more. 3/ respectfulinsolence.com/2017/07/13/mor…
The end result was an ever tighter alliance between right wing populist politics and the antivaccine movement, to the point that prepandemic @GOP had become in essence the antivax party. 4/ respectfulinsolence.com/2019/04/19/gop…
There was a particularly disturbing example of this development in the 2018 primaries, where @MIGOP hosted a blatantly antivax roundtable in my district. 5/ respectfulinsolence.com/2018/08/03/jef…
Given that background, why is anyone surprised that in the age of #COVID19 the Union between right wing populism, antivaxxers, and antimaskers has solidified. As @tarahaelle described, the pandemic is the moment antivaxxers have been waiting for. nytimes.com/2021/08/31/opi…
So, to answer John’s question, people do self-destructive things all the time in the name of ideology or religion, and that’s what we’re largely dealing with here. It’s been hiding in plain site for at least 6 years for anyone paying attention to see. 7/
As to that social media influencer doctors downplaying the severity of #COVID19 and the pandemic (saying the pandemic is over even), and even just those who aren’t ideologically opposed to vaccine mandates but just don’t see why they should be bothered have a reason to refuse.8/8
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