I recently posted on TIE about my concerns that some of the rhetoric used against anti-vaccinator parents would be counterproductive and reinforce their resistance to vaccination.
Over at The New Republic, I examine anti-vaccination beliefs in more detail; in particular, their fears that vaccines may be causing an epidemic of autism. There’s new research from Denmark that suggests there’s little reason for those fears.
How do we change anti-vaccinators’ views? Based on Dan Kahan‘s research, I argue that
we shouldn’t be telling anti-vaccinators that there is something wrong with their intelligence or character. We should speak to them in ways that respect their commitments to their children’s health and their concerns about possible associations between environmental toxins and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism.
The whole article is here.
