Ontario Anti-Vaxxers May Be Required to Complete Science Class
Legislation is on the table in Ontario to force parents seeking vaccine exceptions to complete a vaccine class. I have minimal knowledge about Canadian politics so I have no idea if this will pass. I do know that it won’t work.
The problem is that anti-vaxxer beliefs aren’t rational. Their vaccine convictions are rooted in faith, not facts, much like religion.
Think of a fundamental Christian who believes in creationism. It’s fact that evolution happened. It can’t be rationally debated. Even if you carefully walk a creationist through the science they most likely won’t believe it. They may take a few facts and incorporate them into creationism as long as they don’t conflict with their preexisting faith, but good luck changing their mind.
Anti-vaxxers, GMO haters, natural food supporters, acupuncturists, integrative medicine practicers, climate change deniers, etc, etc. They all fall into the same category of irrational beliefs.
Teaching science won’t address the vaccine problem. Instead we need to focus on changing the anti-vaxxer “religion” but challenging someone’s religion may be an impossible task.