Grifters, cynics, and true believers: The family tree of vaccine opponents
Stanley Plotkin, 93, was instrumental in developing a number of vaccines over the course of his career. He recently said that he’s “beginning to regret having lived so long—because we’re going downhill.” How could we possibly have gotten here? Maybe we’ve always been here. It turns out that the anti-vaccine arguments currently flooding the Internet have been around for as long as vaccines have. In his new book A Pox on Fools , Thomas Levenson breaks them down into three categ
A prominent figure in vaccine development, Stanley Plotkin, has expressed dismay at the current state of public health discourse, suggesting a decline in societal progress. This sentiment arises as historical arguments against vaccines, dating back to the early days of their development, continue to resurface. According to author Thomas Levenson's new book, "A Pox on Fools," these opposition movements can be broadly categorized into "True Believers, Grifters, and Cynics." Levenson's work examines how anti-vaccine claims, which have persisted for centuries, are often framed as wrong, bad, or intolerable. These arguments echo early criticisms leveled against smallpox inoculations, which were introduced to the West from the Ottoman Empire and from enslaved Africans.
Understanding the historical roots and recurring patterns of vaccine opposition is crucial for addressing contemporary public health challenges and misinformation.
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