Top 10 Vaccine Objections. Alex Ramirez

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      Although it may be true that civility is society’s engine oil, I’ll admit that sometimes I can’t resist a parting shot like, ‘It’s okay not to believe in vaccines. After all, viruses don’t believe in you either.’

      To be honest, I doubt if that kind of pithy comeback has ever persuaded any religious objector to look at the vaccine issue in a different way, but then it’s really more for my own amusement rather than to convince anyone of anything. I just find it funny because not believing in vaccines as such is similar to not believing in viruses or bacteria; indeed, some vaccines are actually types of viruses or bacteria.

      Although mercifully rare, I have met some pretty colourful characters during the course of my career, and I tend to disengage as quickly as possible if I’m unlucky enough to get caught in their orbit. You know the kind of people I mean: the ones who genuinely believe that aliens were responsible for the JFK assassination and think that the 9/11 attacks were perpetuated by reptoids. If someone’s willing to dismiss any and all available evidence as just another fabrication by some all-powerful yet completely invisible and untraceable state apparatus, then they’re far too ‘smart’ to believe a single word I might have to say.

      In this admittedly unusual situation, I know I’m not dealing with an entirely rational kind of mindset, so I immediately understand that I’m spinning my wheels and wasting my breath.

      That’s when I make a strategic withdrawal to the bar or the cloakroom … or anywhere really, just to put a safe distance between us and to ensure that my secret government mind-warping device won’t jangle their tinfoil hat and give the game away.

      While it’s sadly true that some folk just aren’t built for rational discussion, there’s one subject that’s pretty much guaranteed to make all of us into crazy people.

      We’re all hardwired to be highly irrational when it comes to our children, and when you think about it, that’s probably necessary for survival. After all, a parent may be called upon to put themselves in danger to protect their offspring or, in the most extreme cases, sacrifice themselves to preserve their children.

      I immediately know I’m walking blindfolded through a minefield whenever the subject of what’s best for somebody else’s child comes up. Now I don’t know about you, but I’m not all that keen on tiptoeing my way through acres of explosives when I know I don’t have to.

      Of course, when I’m discussing childhood vaccinations, it’s really the parent’s objections I’m addressing and not the child’s. Convincing a toddler to get a jab is as easy as offering the promise of a lollipop afterwards, as any doctor throughout the world will tell you.

      Experience has taught me that first-time parents are the most anxious group when considering vaccinations for their children, despite the fact that they’re quite likely to have undergone those very same immunisations when they were kids. This is actually rather helpful because it’s far less emotive to talk about adults than infants in this kind of situation. If an adult’s already been vaccinated, then it’s much easier to highlight the enormous health benefits they’re enjoying at every minute of every day, and just remind them that their kids can also enjoy those same benefits at a minimal risk.

      This fundamental rule holds true for all of the discussions that are to follow. If someone’s talking about kids, then I talk about adults. It’s the quickest and easiest way to take most of the heat out of the encounter and focus on the real issue at hand. Generally speaking, if an adult can be persuaded that vaccines are a good thing for them, they’ll automatically decide they’re a good thing for their kids as well.