What Changed this Vaccine Skeptic’s Mind: A Nurse’s Perspective & Tips for Science Allies
Makeup and photography by Tania D. Russell.
Dear Science Educators: Keep doing the good work. You will get through to some people some of the time.
My meditation/dharma teacher Noah Levine recently talked about the amount of suffering we cause ourselves by asking, “Why do people behave this way?” “Why are you acting like this?” “Why do you believe that?” We will drive ourselves nuts trying to figure it out. The alternative, he suggested, is how we respond to situations in which we don’t understand other peoples’ actions, behavior, or thought processes.
I see many highly accomplished scientists, researchers, and physicians asking themselves on social media questions like: Why do people believe the misinformation? Why do people believe RFK Jr and all of his nonsense and made-up statistics? What’s it going to take to make people understand that scientific research has clout and we’re not all out to screw you over with supposedly-deadly vaccines?
As a former vaccine skeptic (some might have called me anti-vaccine), I hope that my experience and now wisdom as a well-educated nurse who changed my mind can help you sleep better at night. I wrote about how I ended up a vaccine skeptic in my 2021 blog (when Covid vaccines were just coming out): Confessions of a (former) vaccine skeptic.
It is infuriating and disappointing that so many fall prey to the misinformation and disinformation. It’s maddening that we who understand the value of the scientific process, peer-review, and research are doubted and vilified.
And then there’s the profiteering grifters in the “wellness” industry who sow doubt in peoples’ minds and make it easy to fall prey to their rhetoric and disinformation.
How I became a vaccine skeptic
The vaccine skeptic in me blossomed as a new mom. I didn’t understand why I was supposed to vaccinate my precious newborn with the Hepatitis B vaccine. I had no scientific education (I was a graphic artist) but I knew I was smart and resourceful. It was 2000, earlyish years in the Internet, but I was tech-savvy and had confidence I could find answers. I created a folder of the information I found, and as a crunchy homebirthing mama, I was surrounded by mothers who were skeptic about vaccines and medical recommendations. We attended vaccine info workshops given by homeopaths and naturopaths, and thought we were protecting our children. (PS I am still very happy I birthed with midwives and homebirthed. It was an amazing experience).
Over the 15 years of my vaccine skepticism, before my bachelor’s degree in nursing, I believed the misinformation and thought I was making the best choices for my daughters. But there was always a part of me that wondered, “Am I making the best decisions?” There was always a sparkle of doubt.
But I was terrified, quite ignorant, and (embarrassingly) probably a bit arrogant. I saw videos of children having seizures (supposedly after receiving vaccines), and stories by mothers claiming their children suffered life-long disabilities after vaccines. My general skepticism that the medical industry cares about people kept me fearful and skeptical. Websites like RFK Jr’s Children’s Health Defense, Joseph Mercola’s www.mercola.com, and greenmedinfo.com kept me mistrusting the medical community and thinking that “natural” is better and the scientific community is untrustworthy.
Even when I was getting ready for nursing school in 2014, I was terrified of vaccines for myself. I received the childhood vaccines in the 1970s (thanks Mum!) but I needed the DTaP, flu and Hepatitis B vaccines for nursing school. I considered cancelling nursing school and choosing another career. Thank goodness I didn’t.
How a vaccine skeptic gets stuck in that mindset
I thought that my daughter’s pediatricians weren’t reading the studies that I was reading.
All-or-nothing thinking.
If I don’t trust how the medical industry handles birthing, then they must be wholly untrustworthy.
The for-profit healthcare system in the United States means that all doctors are part of the for-profit mindset and won’t be honest with you.
Greater fear of possible side effects from vaccines than the diseases/viruses themselves. (“I had chicken pox as a kid, what’s the big deal?” “All kids used to get measles, what’s the big deal?”)
Cherry picking studies (even though I didn’t understand what that meant. If a study is published, it’s legit, right?)
How a skeptic’s mind was changed
It wasn’t overnight. It was many things over the years that chipped away at my belief system. There was no magic “a-ha!” moment, but all of these things contributed over time:
My daughter’s pediatricians treated me with respect when I expressed my fears, and did their best to answer my questions. They told me that they vaccinated their own children and grandchildren.
I lost friends over social media arguments.
One of the lost friends said that my attitudes came from a place of privilege. (Ugh, this one got me).
My dear friend said, kindly, “Siobhan, I travel and have to get many vaccines regularly, and I’ve never had an issue.”
Public K-12 schools in California started requiring vaccines, cancelling the philosophical objection. As a low income single mom in pre-nursing, I had no option besides public school for my kids. And guess what — they were fine. They didn’t mind getting the vaccines, and didn’t understand why I was so anti, and they did fine.
It was tiring to go against the norms all the time, and tiring to defend my choices. I was weary.
In nursing school, I did a research project about public health in India. It was hard to deny from the research that vaccines play a huge role in the health of Indian people. I hoped that my research would show that clean water, access to healthcare, and education would have trumped vaccination, but there was no denying the importance of vaccines in preventing disease and death.
Covid. The final nail in the coffin of my vaccine skepticism. Here we were in a worldwide emergency, and all of my prior ignorance came to light. I saw my old myself in the deniers. All of us in the healthcare world were experiencing trauma, and yet folks thought it was too much for them to wear a mask.
Tips for my fellow science folks
Keep educating. Keep talking about the scientific process. Keep sharing that you are vaccinated and that you vaccinate your children. Keep asking vaccine skeptics, “What are your concerns about this vaccine?” and try to respond with a respectful answer. Or not. ;)
You won’t get through to everyone. It could take years for the information to sink in. But you will get through to some people. Those people will talk to their friends and family. Those people may even write a blog about how they changed their mind. :).
Limit your exposure to the anti-science grifters. It can feel like whack-a-mole to attend to all of the lies about science and medicine out there, but there is only so much that you can do. These grifters were always out there, but social media puts it all in our faces. It’s maddening. Take some rest.
Keep doing the good work. Know that you are making an impact. You won’t always see it or hear confirmation of it. You won’t change everyone’s mind, but you will change someone’s mind, and that will have a ripple effect.
Thank you for all that you do.
Siobhan the Nurse
