The growing threat from vaccine naysayers

Hoang Minh Duc, its director general, said there is vaccine hesitancy after Covid-19 because some people think they do not work, worry about their quality or fear side effects. Other factors also play a role. So, I asked my students to write about these concerns, sharing their opinions and arguments.

Most of my students described anti-vaccine individuals, or anti-vaxxers, as ignorant or lacking basic medical knowledge.

Some even saw them as brainwashed.

They suggested that the government should launch more vaccine awareness campaigns and penalize those who refuse vaccination.

Their opinions assume that vaccination is a simple matter of science and that anti-vaxxers either do not understand or do not care about science. But that is not the case.

First, vaccine hesitancy is no longer a fringe issue; it is a global one.

A study by the Vaccine Confidence Project found that in 2023 only 70% of British adults believed vaccines were safe and effective, down from 90% in 2018.

Similar declines in public confidence in vaccines' effectiveness have been recorded in 52 of 55 surveyed countries since 2019.

A poll by YouGov, an international internet-based market research firm, also found that more adults now believe vaccines have harmful side effects that are being hidden from the public.

As a result, the incidence of measles in the U.S. and Europe, both highly developed regions, are at a 25-year high.

If more than 5% of the population remains unvaccinated, society risks returning to a pre-vaccine era.

Second, vaccine hesitancy is not just about understanding science. Education and economic policies alone will not make people trust vaccines more. Some wealthy Americans, for example, hire private doctors for medications instead of using state vaccination programs.

A doctor is holding a vaccine injection needle. Illustration photo by Pexels

So where does vaccine hesitancy come from, and how should society respond as the public health risk grows?

Research shows that vaccine hesitancy is not new. It has existed since the 19th century and has grown into a movement fueled by distrust of government, economic inequality, political polarization, and misinformation.

Economic inequality has increased the vaccine distrust. Many see mass vaccination as something controlled by elites since major pharmaceutical companies and research institutions produce vaccines while ordinary people have no say in the matter.

This distrust worsened after the 2012 economic recession and the impact of Covid-19.

The internet has also contributed to the spread of misinformation, making it harder to control.

Some spread false vaccine claims merely to gain online attention and profit without even believing in what they say in the first place.

The media often focuses on the risks from vaccines rather than their benefits, making minor risks seem much bigger and more dangerous.

It is like gun ownership where people worry more about crime than about the daily dangers of having a gun at home.

While the medical industry has advanced rapidly, public understanding of science has not kept up. Many health experts struggle to explain complex issues in simple terms. When communication fails, they resort to legal mandates instead of discussion.

Studies suggest schools should teach children how to assess scientific evidence, but falling global scores in data literacy and critical thinking make this difficult.

Populist politicians make things even worse. They use emotions to sway public opinion, claiming to defend the weak while exploiting fears about government control and medical interventions.

Instead of promoting long-term solutions like herd immunity, they focus on immediate concerns that fuel distrust and resistance.

The anti-vaccine movement is not just about ignorance. It reflects a world increasingly divided by culture, education, economics, and politics.

The answer is not just about rebuilding trust in vaccines and science—it is about restoring trust between people.

Efforts to do this are already underway.

The U.K. promotes vaccination not just as a personal health choice but as a way to support the economy and keep society stable. In the U.S., healthcare workers collaborate with influential local figures like priests and barbers to vaccinate people while addressing community health concerns.

In Vietnam, where people still trust doctors, vaccine hesitancy may completely disappear as future generations grow up healthier and more informed.

*Lang Minh is a senior education consultant for the MindX startup education ecosystem.