68: How Far Will Vaccine Skepticism Go?

With the development of the COVID-19 vaccine in late 2020, anti-vaccine rhetoric in the U.S. expanded dramatically. Vaccines have been routinely recommended in the U.S. since the early 20th century, and they have significantly reduced the prevalence of diseases like polio, measles, and tetanus. But with the pandemic, what was once a mostly politically neutral topic — immunization — became a politically controversial one in much of the country.   Kirstin Matthews, a fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute, and Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategic officer of The Immunization Partnership and a Baker Institute nonresident scholar, joined Baker Briefing to explore the discourse surrounding vaccines, their politicization, and what’s ahead for vaccine policy under the incoming Donald Trump administration.   Discussants Rekha Lakshmanan Nonresident Scholar, Baker Institute; Chief Strategic Officer, The Immunization Partnership Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Ph.D. Science and Technology Policy Fellow, Baker Institute The Honorable David M. Satterfield        Director, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy