COVID safetyism fueled vaccine skepticism for measles and other diseases
Zachary Faria
COVID safetyism was incredibly damaging to children, and not just through school closures. Now, anti-vaccine sentiment is taking hold among parents for viruses other than COVID.
There has been a “decline of two percentage points nationwide in the number of fully-vaccinated kindergartners,” according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The vaccination rates for measles, mumps, and rubella have hit their lowest points in a decade. The decline in measles vaccinations means that at least 250,000 kindergartners may not be protected from the disease, and there has already been a measles outbreak among children in Ohio.
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The decline in child vaccinations can be attributed to an increase in vaccine skepticism, which is a direct failure of the public health bureaucracy during the pandemic. The lies and mistakes by public health officials and politicians during the pandemic, combined with the arrogance of officials such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, shredded public trust in their health guidance.
This was most egregious when it came to how children were treated. Bureaucrats and politicians encouraged and imposed restrictions on playgrounds, sports, and attending school, despite the fact that it was clear in summer 2020 that COVID was less lethal for children than the flu. The data were available for anyone to see, and yet children bore the brunt of lockdowns and other restrictions.
Then, politicians began trying to force the COVID vaccine on children. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York City Mayors Bill de Blasio and Eric Adams mandated the COVID vaccine or severely restricted the lives of children who were not vaccinated. An advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously recommended children begin being vaccinated against COVID when they are 6 months old.
Again, there has never been any evidence that children are at serious risk from COVID. The virus is far less lethal for children than the flu. And yet politicians and unaccountable health bureaucrats either mandated or coerced parents to give their children an unnecessary vaccine.
This is not to say that the COVID vaccine didn’t help protect some people (who were older or had health conditions that made COVID more lethal to them). Nor is it to say that their fears regarding other vaccines are justified. But, when public officials either repeatedly lied, were repeatedly wrong, and even ignored their own COVID orders while continuing their alarmist rhetoric, is there any surprise that it bred newfound vaccine skepticism among thousands of people?
COVID safetyism did untold damage to people’s livelihoods, especially the children who were put through two years of learning loss and emotional health issues that will have permanent effects. You can attribute the rise in “anti-vaxxers” to this safetyism as well, as it is a direct response to public officials who were wildly irresponsible, alarmist, and authoritarian.
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