Anti-Vaxxing for Dollar$
I'm willing to believe some people are fearful and/or uninformed and/or have been misled. But this makes them no less wrong. Like the rest of us, one of the main reasons they are alive is that vaccines have saved them from smallpox, polio, tuberculosis, tetanus, etc.
But some anti-vaxxers are using their "advocacy" to line their pockets. For example, in 2019 The Washington Post detailed (paywalled link) donations of $2.9 million to an anti-vax groups (whose name I don't want to publicize) by Joseph Mercola. His donations accounted for about 40% of the group's funding.
Mercola's enterprises sell "natural" heath products and quack cures, some of which are marketed as alternatives to vaccines. His enterprises are estimated to bring in about $15 million annually.
According to a investigation by the Associated Press, Ty and Charlene Bollinger "are part of an ecosystem of for-profit companies, nonprofit groups, YouTube channels and other social media accounts that stoke fear and distrust of COVID-19 vaccines." They work with other anti-vaxxers to drive their marks through an array of companies that sell them stuff. They claim to have made tens of millions of dollars in sales.
Erin Elizabeth has connections to Mercola and runs Health Nut News. That website is listed as having $1 Million in annual revenues.
I could keep going, but you get the idea. Each of these scumbags is a member of the disinformation dozen, which is estimated to be responsible for 65% of the vaccine disinformation online. They prey on scared and/or vulnerable people to sell stuff and generate lucre. Meanwhile they are imperiling our ability to get the pandemic under control.
Next time you hear somebody pushing some anti-vax message, a good question to ask yourself is: What are they selling?
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
