Vaccination: a communications crisis

So

If you get vaccinated and understand that it is important:

You are great.

However, we hope you understand that this is not a reason to mock people from the opposite camps, to spread caustic jokes about the "anti-vaxxers" — if your goal is not just to laugh at someone, but to positively influence the situation in some way.

It is unfortunate , that such a practice of overt haterade is present in some professional online communities that, it seemed, were meant to do the opposite — convince people to get vaccinated and provide them with quality information.

People are all different. Not everyone has medical or biological education, a constructive environment, or super-critical thinking. Yes, this is disheartening and requires considerable patience. But the catch is that if you simply point a finger at the "dark one," the situation will not change. For him, you will remain not a bearer of knowledge, but ... just an unpleasant aggressive person.

For the most part, vaccination opponents are people who have read about "some misfortune" on predominantly Russian sites and forums, or who have had not very pleasant experiences interacting with medical institutions. (No, this is not a slight against medical institutions, but problems exist there as well. To claim that they don’t is only making the situation worse.) Active supporters of the "against" position are actually not that many, most people are just looking for some clarifying information. ...On various accessible resources. You can be that someone.

Tactically argue, cite sources, stay calm.

Your sane and non-aggressive stance may push a person to reflection and search.

If you are a doctor and your patient is unsure:

Try to provide answers to their questions. Honestly admit if you do not know some facts at the moment — this is normal. This will promote trust more than avoiding an answer. If a patient, instead of a concrete answer to their question, hears simply "don't worry," consciously or subconsciously they will perceive this as a devaluation of their concerns for their children.

Do not allow (even though it is hard to refrain) accusations like "how can you be such an idiot?" After all, they are the patient, to know something.

If you are, for some reason, an opponent of vaccination:

No, we do not condemn you. Although we might want to :). But we urge you to formulate your arguments that influenced your viewpoint. Because, agree, without argumentation this is nothing more than a whim.

Try to critically evaluate your information sources and arguments and assess them against the following criteria:

• How are these sources connected to evidence-based medicine?
• If this is the position of some specific person who is an authority for you — does this person have to do with medicine?
• If you read or watched "something" on the internet — does it have an author (Who is this author? What does he do? Why should we trust him?)
• If you read or watched "something" on the internet — are there references (and are these references truly to scientific publications, and not to dubious blogs)?

Often articles or videos talk about "some studies" and refer to "experts" (sometimes fictional, sometimes far from medical professionals and scientists) - do not hesitate to search for them, at least on Google Scholar or PubMed.

Discuss with a doctor you trust. Ask about their experience from practice and other questions that interest you.

May you have strength, quality information, and strong immunity!

timothy hunt illustration