Covid: anti-vaccines are already on the rise

“The best advice I can give you is, above all, not to vaccinate yourself”… The name of reality TV starlet Kim Glow will probably mean nothing for over twenty years. But on November 11, his video on Instagram, where he has 1 million fans, to denounce the next vaccine against Covid-19 did not go unnoticed.

His video is worthy of the best conspiracy scenarios: the vaccine would inoculate nanoparticles activated by 5G, Covid would be a disease invented to combat global overpopulation … it is also the reflection, distorted by social networks, of a generalized and growing mistrust in France against vaccines in recent years, which has awakened Pfizer’s announcement of an upcoming 90% effective vaccine against the coronavirus.

The French are the least ready to be vaccinated

Several surveys published in recent days show that one in two French people do not intend to be vaccinated against the disease. There are those who still want to be reassured about the next vaccine and those who, structurally, are against vaccines.

According to Odoxa, the diehards, those “Systematically reject any type of vaccine” they represent 15% of the French. They were only 10% in 2015. “The French more systematically question the merits of certain advances. This is true for drugs and vaccines “, analysis Céline Bracq, General Manager of Odoxa. According to Ipsos, which published a study on 15 countries in early November, it is in France that the consent to vaccination against Covid is the lowest.

Movement amplified by social networks

If it goes beyond the mere sphere of the conspiracy, the anti-vaccine movement finds a spectacular sounding board in social networks. Facebook and Youtube have certainly taken steps to restrict anti-vaccine content – Facebook recently decided to no longer allow anti-vaccine advertising – but these aren’t the only social networks. On Twitter and Instagram, even those with large audiences – “influencers” – play a crucial role. “When someone has 1 million subscribers, the impact is clear why those subscribers trust him”, observes a social networking specialist.

“There is an ecosystem that allows for the promotion of anti-vaccine content. Algorithms actively participate by recommending them hundreds of millions of times. The platforms feed off each other, creating a repetition of unfounded theories. This massive repetition manages to convince part of the population “, analyzes algorithm specialist Guillaume Chaslot, founder of Algo Transparency and former employee of Youtube.

“Pedagogy and transparency”

In this context, the government’s preparation for the coronavirus vaccination campaign promises to be delicate. Already criticized for managing the crisis, the executive must prepare this vaccination campaign in a context of mistrust. To the Ministry of Health, we promise “Pedagogy and transparency” on the future vaccine, which will not be mandatory.

“We will not distribute a vaccine that we are not sure about”, we promise in the entourage of Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health. “The government will not be able to speak for itself in this campaign. It will have to be reported by scientists, but also by doctors and associations active in the field of health “, adds Céline Bracq. Necessary but probably insufficient to calm the anti-vaccine movement.