National Review’s Michael Brendan Dougherty faced a torrent of criticism (much of it made in bad faith) over the weekend for pointing out the obvious: Vaccine outreach efforts will continue to fail if the people doing the reaching out treat vaccine skeptics like they’re ignorant oafs.
As is so often the case, Dougherty’s critics proved his point. This is what they think of you backcountry, churchgoing, tinfoil hat-wearing bumpkins:
Coddling obstinate, irresponsible cranks. Pretty much the conservative playbook.
— Dennis Perkins (@DennisPerkins5) July 16, 2021
The suggestion here is that we should be catering to conspiracy theorists about public health and safety…and that’s a steaming pile of bullshit. https://t.co/EI6JTQ6w1O
— Kimberley Johnson (@AuthorKimberley) July 18, 2021
Let’s all try to be more sensitive as we scream at complete fucking morons. https://t.co/SRQ5ZLTQL0
— Julius Sharpe (@juliussharpe) July 17, 2021
The hostility toward the vaccine hesitant makes much more sense once you understand why there are still so many in the vaccine-hesitant camp. They’re not all conspiracy theorists, and they’re not morons. They’re people who have been let down and lied to by public health officials, and the concerns that have arisen from this breach of trust are legitimate. Dougherty’s critics know this, but they’d rather write off the skeptical as unserious loons than admit that maybe, just maybe, they have a point.
We were told the country would be shut down for two weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent the healthcare system from being overrun by positive cases. That two weeks turned into nearly a year and a half. We were also told not to buy or wear masks because they were ineffective against the virus, only to be told a few months later that we needed to wear them at all times.
We were told schools needed to be shut down for an entire school year because of the virus even though almost everyone knew children were not at risk. We are still being told that young children ineligible for the vaccine must be forced to wear masks even though they are still not at risk.
We were led to believe by Vice President Kamala Harris and several other Democratic officials that the vaccines developed by the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed might not be safe. And the Food and Drug Administration led us to believe the Johnson & Johnson vaccine could cause severe, potentially fatal side effects when the agency pulled it temporarily due to reports about rare blood clotting. And a couple of months after the FDA reinstalled the J&J vaccine, the agency was forced to warn the public about a potential link between the vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The point is this: The government lied to us repeatedly, imposed long-lasting restrictions that often were not backed by scientific data, oversold the risk of COVID-19 to children and young adults, and downplayed the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine that was supposed to signal the end of the pandemic. Given the extent and magnitude of the mistakes made by public health officials throughout the pandemic, it’s actually a wonder that more aren’t skeptical of the vaccines.
This is not to say the vaccines themselves are untrustworthy. All of the available scientific research confirms the coronavirus vaccines are both safe and effective. But the officials pushing the vaccines are untrustworthy, and it is impossible to blame those on the fence for not taking them at their word.
This is why it’s so important for those of us who don’t represent the government and its many failures to reach out to the vaccine hesitant and meet them where they are. They have lost faith in Dr. Anthony Fauci, but they might listen to a close friend. The CDC’s credibility is shot, but the confirmed experiences of family members who have already gotten the vaccine might help bridge the gap.
Not everyone will be convinced, and that’s OK. But a genuine attempt to understand the fears many still hold, and an acknowledgment of the many ways public health officials have failed them, is the only approach that might work.
