2019-09-01_Harpers_Bazaar_Australia.

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JUNE,RobertF. KennedyJr,a prominentAmerican
nti-vaccinationactivist,posteda phototoInstagramof
imself with the actor Jessica Biel. They were seated
ogether at the California State Assembly, lobbying
gainsta statebillthatwouldlimitexemptionsfromvac-
inations.Within minutes, social media erupted with
uryandvitriol.JessicaBielthe“anti-vaxxer”wastrend-
itter.“Thereis somethingsopoignantlyprivilegedabout
le lobbyingagainstvaccineswhenpeopleinthirdworld
countrieslineupformilesjustforthechancetogetinoculated,”
wroteoneuser.“I wishthe1 percentwouldstopspreadingdisease
tothe 99 percent,”wroteanother.
Biel later clarified that she’s “not against vaccinations”, but,
rather,is advocatingforfamiliestohave“therighttomakeedu-
catedmedicaldecisionsfortheirchildrenalongsidetheirphysi-
cians”. But it’s scenarioslike that involving Biel — where an
affluentpersonwitha publicvoiceora celebritywithnomedical
qualificationsthrows themselves behinda health cause —that
ProfessorJulieLeaskatTheUniversityofSydney,a behavioural
scientistwhoworksin publichealthandspecialisesin vaccination,
saysskewspublicperceptionoftheanti-vaccinationmovement.
Suddenly,anti-vaxxersareeverywhere,which,tothegeneralpub-
lic,seemstoindicatethatthemovementis gainingtractionand
followers.Thosewhodovaccinaterespondinkindwithoutrage,
andnewsoutletskeepcirculatingstoriesina moralpanic,which
onlyservestokeeptheanti-vaccinationactivistsinthespotlight.
“Thisemotive,highlypolarisedpublic discussionmakesit feel
likethere’sso muchheataroundtheanti-vaccinationmovement
right now,” Professor Leask says. “If you askmostpeople, they

would sayvaccinationratesare declining, but

that’snotthecase.We’resimplybeingexposed

tomoreanti-vaccinerhetoriconline.Increasein

discussionandworryabouttheanti-vaccination

phenomenoncomeswhenyouhaveoutbreaks

likemeaslesaffectingtheworld,likewedoright

now.” Measles was eliminated in Australia in

2014,butat thetimeof writing,thediseaseis at

a five-yearhigh,with 135 casesreportedsince

thestartof 2019.TheUS,withmorethan 1100

cases,is havingitslargestoutbreaksince1992.

ProfessorLeaskhasspentthepasttwodec-

ades researching the social and behavioural

driversofpeoplewhodon’tvaccinate.Fearsof

the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine

causing autism persist despitethe study that

madethatclaimbeingdebunkedandthedoc-

torwhowroteit,AndrewWakefield,foundto

be fraudulent in his research, but Professor

Leasksaysthere’smoretoit thanthat.“Wealso

lookatthewaypeoplethinkandfeel,andat

practicalbarriers,whichinsomecountriesare

thebiggestreasonskidsaren’tvaccinatedfully.”

InAustralia,ProfessorLeaskexplains,about

94 percentofchildrenunderfivearefullyvac-

cinated,andthosewhoarenotvaccinated by

choicemakeupa smallpartof theremainingsix

percent.Shedescribesthenon-vaccinatingpar-

ents’feelingsthisway:“You’vegotyourbeauti-

ful,pristine,healthychildandweas a societyare

saying,‘Youneedtohavethesevaccinesagainst

thesediseasesyou’veneverheardof ’,andyou’re

worriedthatthevaccinesmight haveingredi-

entsthatcoulddoharm,andyouwantto [ensure]everythinggoing

intotheirbodiesis healthyandwhattheywouldcall‘nontoxic’,and

soforth —thenit’sunderstandablethatsomeparentshavethis

intuitiveconcernaboutvaccination.WhatI wouldsayas a public

healthprofessionalis thatit’sveryunfortunatethatthoseparents

takethoseconcernsto thelevelthattheydon’tvaccinate,becausein

general,thebenefitsofvaccinationstilloutweightherisks.

“There’salwaysbeenananti-vaccinationmovement,andthere’s

a smallnumberofveryloudanti-vaccinationactivistsinAustralia

whoaredifficulttodeter[fromspreadingmisinformation],”she

continues.Oneactivist,whostartedoutas a wellnessblogger,has

gainednotorietyinsomecirclesandadmirationinothersforher

stanceonvaccines.Perherwebsite:“Thebenefitsofvaccinesare

constantly overexaggerated andtherisk ofan adversereaction

severelydown playedby politicians,journalists and GP’s.” She

runs nationwide workshops (at$200 a pop), that she saysare

designed to “foster transparency, arm us with groundbreaking

information,liberateusfroma fear-mongeringcultureandtake

backcontrolofourfamily’shealth”.Theactivistoriginallyagreed

tospeakforthisstoryontheprovisoshebeinterviewedviaemail,

butrenegedafterthequestionsweresent,insteadsendingthrough

otherquestionsshewouldhavepreferredtoanswer,alongwitha

genericmediastatementsayingsherejectsthe‘anti-vaxxer’label.

WithanInstagramfollowingof morethan20,000andplentyof

panicked and negative media coverage, the aforementioned

wellnessbloggerturnedactivistis engaging,buther“potentialto

influenceparentsis slightlyoverrated,”ProfessorLeasksays.“The

mostinfluentialcelebritiesarethecelebritydoctors.Theyusevery

familiar, colloquial language; they get alongside parents. They

FEVER

Withmeaslescases

ata five-year

highandsocial

mediaaflamewith

anti-vaxxer

rhetoric,Alexandra

Englishchartsthe

borderbetween

wellnessand

avoidable illness

PITCH

60 HARPERSBAZAAR.COM.AU September 2019