Ask Lemmy

United States citizens have reasons not to trust their government with their health. Trust takes a lot time to build, and recent administrations haven't been building it.

No there's really people that stupid. It's tragic.

You have to explain to them how vaccines work. I'm waiting for them to turn on antibiotics next. Soon we'll be shaking rattles and swallowing toads to cure diseases.

Even if it does(it doesn't), I would rather have autism than measles or pertussis, etc.

At a job in Silicon Valley I had a boss who had an autistic child and my boss told me directly that when they vaccinated their child, the child's behavior changed, and caused autism.

I have other friends in SV who are huge vaccine skeptics.

So, yes, even in deep blue areas there are anti-vax people. There are also Trump flag flying people in SV too.

It’s so bad Texas currently has a measles outbreak.

I have very religious family that repeatedly told my 90 year old grandma not to get vaccinated in the depths of COVID-19. I have other, not-at-all religious family that works as a nurse… And is anti vaccine.

It’s like a parody.

…But it is no joke. I can answer questions about them if you want.

If you’re wondering why, it’s because many Americans are inundated in really scary social media and TV. That part of my family is constantly on Facebook, watching Fox, doomscrolling whatever. Even their church preaches some really, uh, interesting things now.

It’s this way because there’s a lot of profiteering. For example, the current head of the FBI is apparently selling and promoting some kind of “brave anti vaccine” health merchandise. The current head of the US health department made a lot of money and fame off vaccine skepticism. And their church clergy is crooked in ways I can’t even publicly discuss.

Yes. There are people who believe it. I can't explain it, they have the education, they have the information, but for whatever reason they just want to believe a conspiracy theory instead.

No, it's not a joke, some people are that fucking stupid.

It’s all too real even today, however that might not be the cause of current measles outbreaks.

Measles was eradicated from the US years ago, thanks to high vaccination rates. However that means most people have never seen measles so there is a fringe belief that it’s not harmful or the vaccination is more harmful, and vaccination rates have been declining to the point we could get a larger epidemic.

We do have localized measles outbreaks many years but they’ve usually been attributed to a new infection from overseas and a very local community insufficiently vaccinated. Sometimes the population is from places where they’re not vaccinated, sometimes it’s a vulnerable population. While yes, it can also be from fringe anti-vax groups, I really think the bigger fear is whether those fringe groups open a path to much wider outbreaks or epidemics.

Some idiots in America believe this, most don't.

There is a small, idiotic group that thinks that. Unfortunately that group is growing.

Yes, people truly believe this. It seems obviously bonkers to you and I, because we have at least average critical thinking skills. The people who believe these things have way below average critical thinking skills. And there A LOT of these people. Just look at your normal bell curve chart.

Having lived next to them for my whole life; For Americans if it sounds too stupid to be true it’s probably true

There are more than a few mentally defective folks that believe vaccines cause a variety of maladies.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-fbi-director-kash-patel-vaccine-detox-supplements-rcna182434