@FediThing I would very much assume it's some combination of the 2, though I don't know of good data on the relative contribution of each.

Antivax lies are pretty self explanatory and I'm sure they contribute. But there are also barriers to getting appointments that the government could address better than they have.

@PaulNickson @FediThing
Antivaxxers ARE The Stupid.

I still think Andrew Fucking Wakefield should die in prison, but that was a quarter of a century ago.

We have basically a magic potion that will protect children from a whole range of diseases and people would still rather rely on some shit they read on Facebook.

I heard a story the other day about how, after hearing a doctor talk to an older patient about the various vaccine options he had, the secretary asked “you don’t actually believe what you just told him, right?”. And that’s someone who works for the NHS.

The last ten years have been terrifying in terms of seeing how gullible even well-educated people are 😞

It's like there's a remote control for humanity that can make it do anything, even harm its own children, and maniacs are using that remote control.

Vaccines have been saving millions upon millions of lives for decades, dangerous diseases have been reduced to near zero or even eradicated completely, but then people walk away from vaccines because of some dubious crazy article on Facebook.