Doctors across the nation are alarmed that skepticism fueled by rising anti-science sentiment and medical mistrust is increasingly reaching beyond vaccines to other proven, routine, preventive care for babies.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which analyzed more than 5 million births nationwide, found that refusals of vitamin K shots nearly doubled between 2017 and 2024, from 2.9% to 5.2%. Other research suggests that parents who decline vitamin K shots are much more likely to refuse getting their newborns the hepatitis B vaccine and an eye ointment to prevent potentially blinding infections. Rates for that vaccination at birth dropped in recent years, and doctors confirm that more parents are refusing the eye medication.
“I do think these families care deeply about their infants,” said Dr. Kelly Wade, a Philadelphia neonatologist. “But I hear from families that it’s hard to make decisions right now because they’re hearing conflicting information.”
I’d argue it comes down to three factors:
One, the rejection of modernism. People will argue that things were great in the past and now we are a fallen people (thus the popularity of the MAGA rallying cry). Obviously then, everything modern is suspect as it may be part what robbed us of our ‘greatness’.
Two, machismo. Among many illness is seen as punishment for some nebulous moral failing. You’re sick? Oh, you must not of eaten right, or you didn’t work out enough, or god is punishing you, etc. As such protecting yourself from disease is un-manly. You saw this a lot during COVID, masks were “face diapers” and Covid was “just the flu” and only the “libtards” were getting the vaccine (which via point one was was branded the “clot-shot”). Covid was seen kind of like a “Snake handling” ritual, proof that you are “moral” enough to live through it as well as proof you don’t fear death.
Three contrarianism. We all know this one. “If it’s popular it must be bad!” is a creed has holds a deep grasp in the psyche of many. Usually it’s pretty trivial, it doesn’t really matter if you liked <band> but hated them when they hit the mainstream. However when contrarianism starts getting applied to lifesaving medical procedures you start having problems.
Then there is the 4th…at least for medical services…costs. If you can’t afford the good insurance, everything costs so much more money. Even adults are putting off exams and preventative care because wallets are being squeezed from all sides.
Even with the shittiest insurance most basic preventative stuff like vaccines is covered… because they’d rather cover the simple cheap shit and not have you come in later when your kid is dying of polio or some shit.
yup, preventative appts are free for once per year. they cover most if not all vaccines, except if your not in the age range for some of them like shingles, or meningicoccal vaccine, or RSV.
Oh, I diunno… Sounds profitable.
It’s not because you won’t be able to pay
They want you coming in for minor stuff long term, using up your deductible and barely paying copays not incurring a huge cost then dying
The fourth factor is probably actually how poorly women are treated by doctors/ western medicine. Once all that is exposed and validated, these families are throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Easy to convince someone that doctors don’t care what’s best for them after several doctors mistreat them.
Thank you for bringing this up. I’m liking both this comment and the one above.
I think sometimes in an effort to mock MAGA, we may over-legitimize doctors. They’re just people, just like us, and there is a looooong history of medical malpractice and systemic abuse—much by the same forces MAGA is allied with.
The first two are aspects of fascism: reversion to traditionalism and high importance given to machismo.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/umberto-eco-ur-fascism