Anti-Vaxxers: How to Challenge a Misinformed Movement

By Jonathan M. Berman

ISBN: 9780265239326

Jonathan M. Berman's Anti-Vaxxers is described on its cover as "the essential companion to inform conversations with family and friends," presumably about vaccination science, or rather, as the title suggests, those who choose not to believe in it.

Berman's preface speaks to the importance of vaccinations and the alarming threat of anti-vaxxers in the context of the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Though Berman clearly wrote the preface in the earlier days of the virus, many of his statements and concerns ring true even now, more than half a year in. One of the largest questions looming on the horizon will certainly be the response of anti-vaxxers to any COVID-19 vaccine to come on the market and, of course, any government declarations deeming vaccination mandatory.

Berman approaches the subject of vaccinations and those who call themselves anti-vaxxers broadly, and then winnows his way through history to today, detailing both the good and the bad information out there about vaccines. He offers his reader a better understanding of vaccines, their history, not-so-proud moments in their history, and an underlying explanation of how vaccines work. His clear goal is to provide his readers the tools they need to compose a compelling counter-argument when in conversation with an anti-vaxxer.

Berman's approach to anti-vaxxers is neither condescending nor disempathetic, but measured and informed. As he explains throughout the book, many anti-vaxxers are not uninformed but, rather, ill-informed. That is, they do not believe in vaccinations for their children and perhaps themselves not because they do not understand what vaccinations are or how they work, but rather because they have been exposed to, consumed and believed "fake news" regarding this medical practice.

One important thing to consider, which Berman certainly hammers home, is the importance of understanding what information is out there, and what is scientifically sound and what is not. Indeed, the infamous 1998 Lancet paper by Andrew Wakefield surmising that vaccinations caused autism spectrum disorder to develop in otherwise unaffected children is still cited today by anti-vaxxers aiming to support their stance. Yet the paper was retracted, and Wakefield stripped of his medical license in the United Kingdom for falsifying results.

Berman also explores the role of pop culture in public perception of vaccinations, from non-expert celebrity endorsements to ill-researched documentaries to falsely sourced articles published in popular magazines. It's important when speaking with an anti-vaxxer to understand where they are coming from and where the information they have may be coming from. There's a good chance it's either word of mouth or coming from someone who has no clinical or medical experience.

Setting aside the distinction between pseudoscience, falsified publications and real medical research, another important consideration is the history of vaccinations. It is fraught with blemishes, many of which resulted in numerous unnecessary deaths. There was the horse named Jim who was used to culture antitoxin for a vaccine that then killed its inoculants because, unbeknownst to the vaccine manufacturer, Jim had tetanus. Then there was the case of the polio vaccines that were incorrectly developed and actually gave people polio, several of whom died.

If Berman's book makes anything clear, it's that anti-vaxxers don't have solid legs to stand on in their arguments, but their arguments do have legs. There have been times when vaccines have failed to meet their intended purpose, causing more harm than good. But, fundamentally, their success in eradicating terrible diseases such as polio, the measles and smallpox cannot be underwritten by their failure. And, most importantly, the fundamental basis of the modern anti-vaccination movement is the concern that there is a connection between childhood vaccinations and autism—a  concern seeded by a nearly 25-year-old publication that has since been retracted, denounced and disgraced.

If you have any anti-vaxxers in your life, especially with the holidays coming up, you'll probably benefit from reading Berman's book.

Review by Jeanette S. Ferrara, MFA