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- cross-posted to:
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Public sentiment on the importance of safe, lifesaving childhood vaccines has significantly declined in the US since the pandemic—which appears to be solely due to a nosedive in support from people who are Republican or those who lean Republican, according to new polling data from Gallup.
In 2019, 52 percent of Republican-aligned Americans said it was “extremely important” for parents to get their children vaccinated. Now, that figure is 26 percent, falling by half in just five years. In comparison, 63 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners said it was “extremely important” this year, down slightly from 67 percent in 2019.
Unfortunately antivaxxers have completely polarised any discussion on their topic. Anything even mistaken for being negative towards vaccines is automatically down voted.
I would argue that development of a vaccine starts long before the trial phases. They aren’t like viagra where you target something different and accidentally end up with a vaccine after trials.
Vaccines are not safe because they are Vaccines. They are safe because they are designed and tested to be safe. (Also, safe is a relative measurement but that discussion is too easy to misinterpret)
I would argue that its safety or danger at this stage is irrelevant. You can’t go down to your doctor and request to be vaccinated with one of these products: they are not available to the general public. It is disingenuous to argue that they are “dangerous” when they pose no actual danger.
The vaccines you can get from your doctor are safe.
Yes, safety is only relevant when a vaccine is tested on live subjects, but it is still a vaccine, even before testing.
Vaccines from a doctor have been tested to filter out treatments with dangerous side effects. It is not disingenuous to recognise that this filtering has occurred nor discuss the reason why.