From Starmer's scuffle to the Siege of Ottawa: the resistible rise of the anti-vaxxers

Abstract

This article discusses the energy and aggressiveness of the campaigns against mitigating transmission of Covid-19 during the pandemic, and especially against vaccination. These campaigns have brought anti-vaxx sentiments into the limelight with a vengeance. The aim of the article is to seek a better understanding of the forms that the contemporary anti-vaxx movements can take and what is fuelling them. It has three parts. The first describes recent anti-vaxxer actions in the UK, France, Austria and Canada, highlighting the siege of Ottawa. The second part draws on the history of anti-vaxx movements in the UK and the USA for insights into their militancy; and in the third part there is an exploration of ideas about what makes anti-vaxx platforms so attractive and who is drawn towards them. Countering anti-vaxxer propaganda requires an understanding of the pathways by which the information spreads. False narratives will move from anti-vaccine echo chambers to mass audiences via social-media sharing, as well as coverage in local and mainstream media. Countering this misinformation all along the pathway requires a whole-of–society effort that is multifaceted, tolerant of short-term setbacks, and persistent even in challenging conditions. The NHS faces the whole of society. Could it, in its present state, be the vehicle for engaging the anti-vaxxer movements?