Coronavirus outbreak

US anti-vaxxers aim to spread fear over future coronavirus vaccine

Anti-vaxxers’ influence and power could affect Americans’ willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine, experts warn

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A coronavirus vaccine may be a long way away, but there is already a threat on the horizon: anti-vaxxers.

Once a fringe presence in America, vaccine opponents have become better organized in recent years, a development that has contributed to the worst US measles outbreak in a generation in 2019.

Buoyed by their better organization anti-vaxxers have now taken aim at the very thing epidemiologists say can defeat the devastating coronavirus: an as yet undeveloped vaccine. Experts studying the movement warn anti-vaxxers influence and power could affect Americans’ willingness to take a Covid-19 vaccine and recent studies suggest this is a real issue.

In early May, a survey by two academics found that 23% of Americans would not be willing to get vaccinated against Covid-19. In a separate poll by Morning Consult, 14% said they wouldn’t get vaccinated, and another 22% were unsure. And according to a new Associated Press-NORC poll, only about half of Americans say they would get a Covid-19 vaccine if available. With more than 1.6m coronavirus cases in the US, and a more than 100,000 deaths, a mass refusal could have dangerous consequences.