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The Politicized Nature of Science: Vaccines

According to Belluz (2015), vaccines have been around since the 18th century to work

against pathogens and deadly illnesses. More recently, there has been a big push towards

vaccinating children during the start of the school year due to a measles outbreak that affected

numerous people. However, some parents are against this as it impedes with their own personal

narratives, whether that be for religious or philosophical reasons. They believe that it takes away

their rights to parent their children in the ways they believe are best. On the other hand, science

says that there is no reason to delay or refuse vaccinations. Vaccinations are completely safe and

are necessary in order to fight against and contain the spread of diseases, a process called herd

immunity (Belluz 2015). As a result, this issue has become largely politicized due to the strict

vaccination law that has outraged many parents because of its mandatory factor with only

medical exemptions allowed (in the state of California among two others).

One of the reasons why this issue became politicized is because of heuristics. As we

discussed in class, people have different values and when an issue like this is pushed out abruptly

into the public, people are going to have different opinions on it – no matter what science says

and what the factual information are. If people are really passionate about a scientific issue based

on their value systems/ideological predispositions, such as believing vaccinations actually causes

illnesses, then it’s going to take a lot to change their perception because they are only going to

use the amount of information they think is necessary to form attitudes on it (Scheufele 2006).

Another reason that applies along with this is the fact that people rely on the opinions of others

and the usage of stereotypes. People tend to rely on mass media and the opinions of others as

they are likely to be closely related in the sense that they may share similar values and beliefs.

For instance, Jim Carrey’s strong stance on the vaccine law could have influenced the many
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people that follow him as he has a pretty big role in society. In addition, stereotypes are used as

defense and also allow for the ability to process information efficiently and with minimal effort.

Stereotypes can influence perception, so when it comes to making a given decision on scientific

issues like this one, people tend to not base it on factual information. Furthermore, as we

watched the film Merchants of Doubt in class, we learned that merchants created doubt by

playing to values that are highly instilled, and in this case it was freedom. It’s a deeply ingrained

and held value in American culture. If people believe their rights of freedom are being violated

by not having a choice on vaccinations, the issue is more likely to be controversial and thus

politicized.

To prevent this issue from becoming politicized, scientists could have acknowledged the

public’s concern on vaccinations as well as informing them with science that backs up their

reasons. It is essential to address the concerns of the public. People want to be heard and it’s

important to ensure them that their opinions are valued. By doing so, it enables more ease in

communicating as it allows for a sense of understanding on both parties. Additionally, the

knowledge deficit model that we learned in class assumes that if people were only more

informed, they would be more supportive of science. People need to understand the science

behind issues in order to hopefully support the message. This could be making the topic more

clear to them or better yet, by communicating scientific information that can’t be proven wrong.

It’s hard not to believe something if all the facts check out. It’s also helpful if science isn’t

divided on many issues and/or if the controversy is explained. If the public sees that scientists are

divided on a topic, they aren’t as likely to believe them. Therefore, it’s critical that this is

addressed appropriately. By using these strategies, it could have potentially prevented this issue

from becoming politicized as effective communication comes from informing the consumer.
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References

Belluz, J. (2015, April 09). California Gov. Jerry Brown just approved one of the toughest

mandatory vaccine laws. Retrieved Februrary 19, 2018, from

https://www.vox.com/2015/4/9/8376449/california-vaccine-exemption

Scheufele, D. (2006). Messages and heuristics: How audiences form attitudes about emerging

technologies. Engaging Science: Thoughts, deeds, analysis and action.