How the Medical Profession Contributes to COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy

Abstract

J Neurol Neurocrit Care, Volume 4(3): 1–3, 2021 Hopefully the pandemic will be over within another year. In the meantime, the medical profession and public health officials continue to denigrate and sanction ‘anti-maskers’ and ‘anti-vaxxers’, as discussed in previous papers [1-6]. This behavior inflames the people characterized as anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers, increases polarization, and breeds distrust in the medical profession. These effects of the denigration and sanctions can do nothing but increase vaccine hesitancy. The medical profession should stop putting all blame for vaccine hesitancy on a misinformed public, and instead should examine its own contributions to vaccine hesitancy. I am double vaccinated. There are a number of topics that illustrate the unhelpful attitudes and unscientific statements of doctors and public health officials during the pandemic. These are reviewed below.