← Quick Find
Menü
The science and actions behind vaccinations is shaped by political and economic agendas
Political leanings are a known driver of people’s attitudes towards scientific findings that are politically charged, and vaccination has become politicised in many countries.
A large body of research has established that across the globe, people with right-wing political views are presently more likely to reject scientific findings than people on the left. In the case of vaccinations, the association tends to be small and finds expression in different ways.
Vaccine opposition in European countries including the UK is related to nationalism, right-wing populism, and individualistic and hierarchical worldviews. Politically-motivated opposition to vaccinations can become particularly acute in the case of mandates.
This theme claims that science cannot be objective and always has a political or economic agenda, or that science cannot be trusted because it is influenced by politics.
Arguments may be made against these perceived agendas, for example, standing against the economic burden of vaccines, or the politicians who advocate vaccines.
Vaccinations have always been politically relevant and, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, have become a central issue of the political debate. Politicians worldwide are often partisan and unfortunately try to co-opt many issues to push their agendas. Some politicians are doing this for vaccines too and politicise the debate around vaccination. This situation has caused immunisation programs to move from their natural place—immunology and public health experts—to other spaces of debate where information is politicised and uncertain.
Dialogue between patients and healthcare professionals is most productive if it is guided by empathy, and an opportunity for the patient to affirm the reasons underlying their attitudes and to express understanding for that. That’s why it is important to understand the attitude roots behind people’s overt opinions. To affirm a person’s underlying attitude root does not mean we need to agree with the specifics of their argument. For example, we can acknowledge that:
Vaccinations have always been politically relevant and, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, have become a central issue of the political debate. Politicians worldwide are often partisan and unfortunately try to co-opt many issues to push their agendas. Some politicians are doing this for vaccines too and politicise the debate around vaccination. This situation has caused immunisation programs to move from their natural place—immunology and public health experts—to other spaces of debate where information is politicised and uncertain.
Despite scientific research being affected by political decisions, the content of scientific findings ultimately is not shaped by political and economic agendas. The science and actions behind vaccinations are based on reliable evidence, which is independent of day-to-day political disputes.
Scientific research has efficient mechanisms to prevent ideology-driven interpretations of data—for example, experiments are replicated in many countries by independent teams, conflicts of interest are disclosed and the results are reviewed before being published. This matter is very important for scientists, because, as far as possible, scientific inquiry must be free from personal biases.
Additional information:
Academic references:
English 
French 
Spanish 
German 
Romanian