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The Trolley Problem Can Partially Explain Vaccine Hesitancy
People are more afraid to actively cause harm than to passively allow harm to occur
One of the most frustrating aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been vaccine hesitancy — residents of rich countries have surplus vaccines that they are refusing to take, while residents of poorer countries don’t have access.
There are many reasons for vaccine hesitancy in the United States; for example, there is a large partisan divide with many Republicans refusing to get vaccinated. There was also a racial divide; many African Americans were afraid of getting vaccinated due to their bad experiences with the healthcare system. Thankfully, now, the racial divide is almost gone. Finally, a third reason is that people are simply scared. They used to cite the fact that all vaccines only had Emergency Use Authorization, not full FDA approval (since then, the Pfizer vaccine has been fully approved for adults). They claim that not enough research has been done, and we don’t know the long-term effects of vaccination (although most vaccination side effects are apparent within 6 weeks). They are worried about the rare side effects of vaccines killing them.
For example, consider Jeannie, an anti-vaxxer who was interviewed by the New York Times. She says “I…
