It probably doesn’t surprise you to learn that anti-maskers have an awful lot in common with anti-vaxxers.
No, not everyone who is anti-mask is anti-vaccine, but you can be pretty sure that you average anti-vaxxer is anti-mask.
What Do Anti-Maskers Have in Common With Anti-Vaxxers?
Most of us could see this coming at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as all of the usual suspects who push misinformation about vaccines were already working to make people think that the SARS-CoV-2 virus wasn’t really that deadly, so they didn’t have to worry about wearing masks or staying away from people, etc.
It’s clear though that these folks, who were already against vaccines, want nothing to do with the COVID-19 vaccines that are being developed.
But what does that have to do with masks?
Think about it…
If you believe that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is deadly and should be avoided by wearing a mask and social distancing, then it would be harder to think that you also shouldn’t get vaccinated and protected once they develop a safe and effective vaccine, right? So to avoid this kind of cognitive dissonance, these anti-vaxxers become anti-maskers.
There are many other cognitive biases, heuristics, and logical fallacies that anti-maskers share with anti-vaxxers. From bandwagoning and omission bias to optimism bias and wanting to be in control, the cognitive phenomena that influences this kind of thinking is well known.
Throw in a tendency to believe in conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and alternative “medicine” and you have a group of people that will not only help to keep the COVID-19 pandemic going, but may start outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
So yes, anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers have an awful lot in common.
Of course, the two biggest things that anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers have in common are that they are both rooted in misinformation and propaganda.
Don’t fall for either.
Wear a mask, wash your hands, practice social distancing, and make sure you and your family are up-to-date on all of your vaccines.
More on Anti-Maskers and Anti-Vaxxers
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- Are anti-maskers the new anti-vaxxers? How a piece of cloth in the pandemic became so politicized
- From anti-vax to anti-mask: School districts brace for parent resistance
- Anti-masking groups draw from anti-vaccination playbook to spread misinformation
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- Lord Cuomo, We Will Not Be Your Lab Rats: Anti-Vaxxer Appropriation of #BlackLivesMatter and #Reopen Protests
- Politics vs the pandemic: Are anti-maskers like anti-vaxxers?
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On the other hand, masks are non-pharmaceutical interventions. And can reduce the need for other government restrictions. I admit I was a bit surprised.
I bought masks in late January and suffered the scorn of those who told me I was taking something vital from a healthcare worker. I’m a researcher and started an earnest search for the truth about this issue. I’m now one of those “anti-maskers” and suffer the scorn of those who think I’m selfish and dangerous. I try to avoid conflict and especially negative attention. I don’t like being in this position but truth is truth, I implore you to search the medical literature. I think 1981 was the earliest study I found. There are studies using dorm settings, home settings, and more; testing different types of masks and the effect on the wearer as well as the effectiveness for protecting the wearer or those they interact with. I won’t go so far as to say that every study conducted this year is worthless. I will definitely declare that every study in 2020 having to do with masks, medicines, etc should be intensely scrutinized. The bottom line of my research is that the studies overwhelmingly show that masks are not effective in slowing the spread of infectious disease and that they do pose harm to the wearer.
Congratulations on your evidence-free declaration. Witch-hunters used similar declarations when asserting the guilt of innocents, so you stsmd in a long line of vile precursors.