'This is alarming': Childhood vaccination rates drop as measles and polio outbreaks emerge
USA TodayDec 24, 2022
The Facts
According to the UN children agency's (UNICEF) annual State of the World's Children report, some 67M children globally either partially or completely missed routine vaccinations from 2019 to 2021 due to COVID lockdowns and the subsequent disruption of healthcare.
UNICEF also said that, during that same period, the public perception of vaccines for children declined in 52 of the 55 countries surveyed. The organization called it a "worrying warning signal" of rising vaccine hesitancy that had come amid misinformation, dwindling trust in governments, and political polarization.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Despite the historic development of COVID vaccines that have saved countless lives, pandemic lockdowns and the subsequent disinformation spread by conspiracy theorists have sent the world backwards. As doctors and scientists are achieving unprecedented amounts of vaccine success, it is important for government leaders and purveyors of public information to provide the most accurate and safe data so that vulnerable children are not harmed by those attempting to disrupt the medical industry's progress.
Establishment-critical narrative
Vaccine hesitancy wasn't on the rise until the US — alongside its global sidekick institutions — began enforcing COVID vaccine mandates for those who clearly didn't need them. It was the government, not fringe conspiracy theorists, who lied about the efficacy of the vaccines, and now they're gaslighting the population into thinking this corrupt scheme never occurred. If the medical establishment wants people to trust it, it shouldn't censor leading scientists who happen to disagree with the Food and Drug Administration.
Metaculus Prediction
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