COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy is being encouraged by anti-vaxxers, a dangerous cult opposed to vaccines. They cite vaccines as the cause of autism, despite the absence of scientific evidence. Such claims are harmful to the real science and research being devoted to autism. These kinds of pseudo-science, snake oil revelations are not without consequences, as they endanger communities and public health at large.

Just like QAnon quackery has infiltrated the mainstream, reality distortions pertaining to vaccines are encroaching on the public. In the past decade there has been a 10 percent decline in the number of parents who feel it is very important to vaccinate their children — not based on science, but rather the groundswell of social media misinformation.

Every argument anti-vaxxers make has been debunked. But it does not stop them from making choices that are having lasting effects on communities around the world. Ignoring these groups will not dissuade them. It may be time to take a holistic mental health approach to meet their dissociation with reality. Just as communities are beginning to address the rise in hate groups and white nationalism it might be smart to hold anti-vaxxers accountable before our problems spin further out of control.

Philip Brose

Norwich