There have certainly been a few unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One of these has been a flourishing of the natural environment due to a lowering of pollution emissions around the world, and now to add to the list, it appears that the virus is causing some anti-vaxxers to change their minds on the topic of vaccinations.
Some anti-vaxxers are reportedly changing their minds and realising the merit of vaccinations, prompted by fears of coronavirus.
Since the beginning of the vaccine health revolution, there has always been a group of sceptics, dubbed anti-vaxxers. The most recent anti-vaxxer movement occurred in 1998 when a now-discredited paper revealed correlations between the MMR vaccine and autism.
Since then, over 140 peer-reviewed papers have proved that this was a false notion, but that didn’t stop anti-vaxxers from opting to not vaccinate their children. The more recent popularity of this movement led to America’s biggest measles outbreak since 1992. Yet in light of the recent coronavirus pandemic, it seems some anti-vaxxers are having second thoughts.
Speaking to CNN, former anti-vaxxer Haley Searcy described: “I was just as scared of vaccines as I was of the diseases they protect against. Since COVID-19, I’ve seen firsthand what these diseases can do when they’re not being fought with vaccines.”
Similarly, anti-vax group TOUGH LOVE leader Lynette Marrie Barron has revealed to CNN that half of the group members would now take a COVID-19 vaccine if there was one, although this number didn’t include herself. She told CNN she wouldn’t get a vaccination “if you paid me a million dollars.”
Currently, there are over 70 coronavirus vaccinations in the works worldwide, with human trials to start this week in the UK.
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