The Paper Thin Logic of Vaccine Skeptics

As the Omicron variant climbs the charts at a staggering rate, triggering a new wave of vaccine and booster mandates nationwide, so begins the regurgitation of vaccine skeptics most common critique: but we don’t know what’s in it! This suspicion offered under the guise of concern for bodily health is heralded as the most rational skepticism for those who outright refuse the vaccine or begrudgingly accept it. However, this championed slogan defies all forms of logic.

There are several reasons that vaccine critics put forth to justify their animosity towards the Covid-19 vaccine, and outrage towards rising booster mandates. Chief among them is the lack of knowledge of what the vaccine specifically contains. However, this skepticism holds little to no merit given that unless the mass public all possess Ph.D’s in Immunology or Biochemistry, the vaccine’s ingredients won’t be understood regardless. The scientists responsible for the vaccine’s creation are the only ones with the relevant knowledge that understand which ingredients are necessary to efficiently combat the virus whilst guaranteeing our health. This also applies to which ingredients are safe to make up the vaccine. Covid-19 aside, the mere philosophy of protesting something on the account of not knowing what it composes of fails to satisfy any rational thinking. They’re countless real world examples of substances that the mass public is completely oblivious as to its particular ingredients, yet unprotestingly invests its trust in. Cosmetic products as simple as shampoo and body wash, food products, the very device this blog piece is being used to write are just to name a few. More relevant examples are all the mandated vaccines that preceded the Covid-19 vaccine: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Tetanus, and Smallpox. The vaccines that eradicated these diseases ensured they never resurfaced again. All irrefutable evidence demonstrates the danger lied in their continued existence, not in the formulas that created their respective vaccines. The Covid-19 vaccine is no different. The empty narrative of distrusting vaccinations for not knowing what’s in them is a strawman argument that has routinely been disproven, and continues to be.

Another reason offered by vaccine skeptics in disapproving of Covid-19 vaccination and booster shots is a cited distrust of government. But once again this argument collapses in on itself when examined under the lens of rational thought. The creation of the Covid-19 vaccine and its booster are the products of major biopharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Pfizer and Moderna. The only extent of governmental involvement in this process takes form in the FDA’s review of their products efficacy. Further, once approved by required FDA approval, the implementation of the vaccines is carried out by approved dispensers. As we’ve seen, these dispensers can be as simple as your local drug store. There is no government intervention in the actual development of these vaccines, merely the thorough review of its validity by a single federal agency charged with overseeing safe products making their way into the marketplace. Even to state a skepticism in this process itself is also to put forth a meritless challenge. The sole reason behind the vaccine skeptic’s distrust in government lies in the politicized nature that now dictates the “vaccine debate.” Traditionally, distrust in government is yet another strawman argument that has long served as a petty excuse to call for resistance against a public health measure. Also, it’s noteworthy to notice that many (not all) vaccine skeptics have voluntary received the vaccine they so readily criticize. From my point of view, this is owed to the fact that deep down..it because these skeptics are scared to acknowledge the fact they reluctantly believe in the vaccine and its necessity. What escapes me is why they devote such effort in repressing this belief.

On a more commercially-oriented note, there exists a sizable pocket within the vaccine skeptic community that protests the vaccine and its booster on the account of the Pfizer and Moderna CEO’s and their companies profits. This is what I call the “and what about it?” argument. Yes, due to the mass development and production of these vaccines, their respective companies are generating a large stream of revenue. However, this argument is meaningless as this “logic” can be applied to any non biopharmaceutical and biotech company. The mass production of Covid-19 vaccines can be compared to the mass production of everyday meat and dairy products, yet are we expected to march torches in hand against major poultry and dairy producers such as Perdue and Kraft Heinz? I certainly don’t see online campaigns erected for their witch trials. Surely their CEOs and companies generate several dollars of profit each time they send out a package of their products. And they do in fact amass billions in profits on an annual basis. This argument of vaccine critics is one of the most hollow, as its basis bears the least relevance to the Covid-19 vaccine specifically. It’s simply another self-interested attempt to discredit a public health mandate.

Viewing this campaign of vaccine protest as a whole, it represents a piece of an even greater pandemic: a mass adoption for displacing expert knowledge with individual ignorance. This particular pandemic casts the individual, regardless of their specific knowledge to any topic, as their own expert. Now with countless social media platforms at our fingertips, the tools to guarantee its survival are just a tap away. Tragically, while we’re equipped to develop a vaccine for Covid-19, this pandemic is likely to take far longer to administer an antidote for. Even more nefarious, is those that perpetuate this pandemic understand that the antidote, knowledge and education, is what they must repress to ensure its longevity.

Going forward in these turbulent times, bear in mind the cautionary words of the late American author Harlan Ellison “You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.” His words are needed now more than ever..