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.”
The way covid vaccine got politicized and whole epidemic turned into just another stunt to extract wealth from the poor really eroded the blind trust people have been putting in science.
Its weird how people always stop trusting science over things that are completely unrelated to science… then again actually that makes perfect sense.
People are, generally speaking, mostly emotional creatures. Emotional comfort is often more important that facts.
Another example would be closing atomic plants.