The Covid-19 vaccine could cause dangerous side effects. Worse, for some, it would contain a chip to capture 5G. If detractors of vaccines have existed since the 19th century, when the smallpox vaccine was born, they had particular visibility during the Covid-19 crisis, which surprised even the medical community. “We had a pandemic that was so significant in terms of its effects on society that the scientific community thought, perhaps a little naively, that vaccination adherence would not pose a problem. On the contrary, we have witnessed an amplification of interest and media coverage of these vaccine-skeptical theses,” recalls Jocelyn Raude, researcher in health psychology and infectious diseases at EHESP (School of Advanced Health Studies). public), in Rennes.
But today, when the pandemic is behind us, what has become of the anti-vax movement? Is it completely dormant, or is it still producing effects? 20 minutes the question was asked.
“The predicted disasters did not occur”
For two years, therefore, we have heard them much less. Even if Professor Didier Raoult – or other emissaries of the anti-vaccine cause – are still talked about from time to time, they no longer impose strong debates in society. It must be said that the predicted disasters did not occur. “There was a disappointment compared to the apocalyptic expectations predicted in connection with the messenger RNA vaccine,” comments Jocelyn Raude. As they revealed themselves “rather safer than traditional vaccination methods, this has pulled the rug out from under these rather radical criticisms.”
According to the latest data from Public Health France, published on April 22, 2024, support for vaccination is increasing: “84% of people questioned in mainland France say they are in favor of vaccination in general, with an upward trend in the proportion of people very favorable to vaccination compared to 2022”. However, some vaccination coverage remains insufficient and it has “a tendency to decrease among the elderly, compared to previous years”, explains the National Public Health Agency.
Old distrusts persist
“We see that the latest Covid-19 recall campaign for those over 65 is not easy, notes Professor Mathieu Molimard, head of the medical pharmacology department at Bordeaux University Hospital. However, if we let our guard down on issues of vaccination and boosters, particularly among the elderly, we will still have quite a few deaths from Covid-19.”
On the flu too, we can think that the anti-vaccine discourse continues to have effects. “More than 60% of the elderly population was vaccinated against influenza in 2008. From 2009-2010, there was an explosion in the visibility of the heralds of the vaccine-critical cause. Vaccination then drops below 50%, analyzes Jocelyn Raude. If it increases gradually, but we see that in 2023/2024, the levels of vaccination coverage are still below those of 2008. “
News is emerging…
And this is not the only example. A vaccination campaign against the papillomavirus began at the start of the school year in secondary schools, for adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old. “It is difficult for vaccine critics to focus on vaccination in general. On the other hand, they can have effects vaccine by vaccine, believes Jocelyn Raude. And HPV is the “Turk’s head” of vaccine skeptics, who have deployed a lot of communication on this vaccine. “.
This vaccine is therefore struggling to convince families, and the results of this campaign are mixed at best. “Even if we don’t yet have all the figures, it’s rather disappointing, in my opinion,” says Mathieu Molimard. Vaccine misinformation continues to operate and it’s a real shame. This vaccine prevents cervical cancer in women and can reduce the risk of HPV infections of the anus and penis that precede cancer, with a very low risk, as it has been used for more than fifteen years . »
Specialists hope that the example of Scotland and Australia, which have been vaccinating their adolescents for ten years and which are beginning to have clear data on the prevention of the cancers concerned, will make it possible to further convince people of the merits of the HPV vaccine. families in France.
“Activated” speeches in times of crisis
What anti-vaccinators have in common is a distrust of institutions and a certain depoliticization. “They recognize themselves as neither left nor right or may have adopted the posture ‘all politicians are rotten’”, points out Jocelyn Raude, adding that they are close to the “yellow vests”. They decided between the “common good” of a public health policy and the attack on their individual freedoms. “We always think that we are going to slip through the cracks,” points out Professor Mathieu Molimard. But we must understand that the risks of vaccination are always lower than the disease, especially since the role of pharmacovigilance consists precisely in reducing these risks. We lack education about health and its issues in France. »
Alongside a “natural medicine” and far-right identity movement, we found, among these opponents of vaccines, conspiracy theorists, who went so far as to believe that the vaccine against Covid-19 was part of a plan to wipe out part of humanity. “Gradually, the vaccination question came to structure conspiracy theories, which was not yet the case twenty years ago,” notes the health psychology researcher.
“There is an aversion to uncertainty in humans, and this favors the speeches of people who think they have final explanations of the subject,” he continues. Paradoxically, it can calm anxieties to think that there is a well-written script, even if it is very dark and a little radical.” And with each crisis, the risk that this type of “heterodox” discourse emerges and finds an audience is increased.