Why progressives should listen to anti-vaxxers, especially the pro-science ones

I recently read a article in the latest edition of the American Journal of Public Health called “Trends in Personal Belief Exemption (PBE) Rates Among Alternative Private Schools: Waldorf, Montessori, and Holistic Kindergartens in California, 2000–2014”. As a public health scientist and as someone who cares deeply about parenting and children, I have my set of opinions on the anti-vax stuff, but I rarely make them public. But, since I have been getting a lot of questions lately, I thought I’d write something up.

First: I am a public health professional and scientist, a Latin Americanist, and have a background in anthropology. My anthropology background will always frame my understanding of public health issues. I am pro-science, and pro-vaccine.

Second: Here’s the main finding of the article: The average PBE rate increased from 5.1% to 10.8% for all alternative schools (Waldorf, Montessori, and Holistic Kindergartens)in the 14-year period, an average annual increase of 7.5%. In comparison, the average PBE rate for public schools increased from 0.9% to 2.8% during that period, an average annual increase of 7.3%. Obviously the baseline rates for alternative schools in 2000 were much higher (5.1% vs. .9%). Waldorf schools tended to have higher and faster growing rates of PBE compared to other alternative schools.

“One study found that parents of children at a well-established US Waldorf school were highly educated and involved in health decisions for their children, and overwhelmingly viewed vaccination of children to be unnecessary, toxic, developmentally inappropriate, and profit-driven. Vaccine refusal among these parents after enrollment increased in the school, implying a socially cultivated reinforcement of vaccine refusal in Waldorf schools.” (Sobo 2015).

I read most of the anti-vax articles here on Medium, notably, this one, and have read a few others, and few of them are nuanced. Most portray anti-vaxxers as hip, “natural”, “purity”-seeking, anti-science, and anti-big pharma. Perhaps the best article I’ve read on the topic came from a source I don’t remember, and one from Huffington. But while I have you here, I am going to try to get you to think a little bit differently about this issue if you are a super-anti-anti-vaxxer. ‘Cause this country is more divided than ever, and we really don’t need any more slicing — especially on this issue.

What I want you to think about is big pharma. Are you down with big pharma? Are you into corporate neoliberal capitalism? Do you think those things are healthy, good, and nice for our communities, children, and elderly? Because I don’t. And yes, I know the anti-vaxxers are often directly or indirectly putting our tiny babies and immunocompromised folks at risk for awful things. But perhaps if we stop reacting so strongly to that for just a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, we can try to understand anti-vaxxers and work towards something better with them.

I’m not implying that many anti-vaxxers are not driven by bad science. Many of them are. But at the end of the day, as these educated Waldorf folks show us, it’s not always anti-science attitudes that lead people to ditch vaccines or change the schedule. It’s also not about individualism, as a lot of these folks cling tight to ideologies that call for egalitarianism, communality, humanism, and taking care of those who need help. Aka, getting a vaccine to make your community healthier and nicer at the expense of known potential side effects (even though they are few). Sometimes, for some parents, it’s more about the evils of corporate capitalism, and we need to take that very seriously. Now more than ever!

Instead of ending this with “now go get your children vaccinated” like many anti-anti-vax articles do, I am going to end this like this:

1. Ask yourself how much of this might be more focused on politics vs. science.
2. From there, ask yourself how you feel about big pharma and the medical establishment in general. 
3. Try to engage with those who might not be like you, and understand their beliefs, choices, cultures, etc.
4. Stop hating and belittling.
5. LISTEN. Listen to the Trump supporters, the anti-vaxxers, the radicals, the conservatives, and who ever else you can while still taking care of your own mental health.
6. Find commonground.
7. Fight for a better world, together.

I think if you identify politically as a progressive, it might be a good idea to try to find common ground with pro-science anti-vaxxers instead of spreading hate and shame.

Sources:

Brennan JM, Bednarczyk RA, Richards JL, Allen KE, Warraich GJ, and Omer SB. (2016). Trends in Personal Belief Exemption Rates Among Alternative Private Schools: Waldorf, Montessori, and Holistic Kindergartens in California, 2000–2014. American Journal of Public Health. e-View Ahead of Print.

Sobo EJ. Social cultivation of vaccine refusal and delay among Waldorf (Steiner) school parents. Med Anthropol Q. 2015;29(3):381–399.