What Should You Say to Anti-Vaxxers to Keep Us All Healthy?
Why Read This
What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Dr. Robert Klitzman, a physician and bioethicist, argues that anti-vaccination rhetoric dangerously misapplies the bioethical principles of informed consent and individual autonomy. Writing in the context of rising rates of measles, mumps, and whooping cough, he challenges the position of Kirk Milhoan — the new chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — who frames mandatory vaccination as “authoritarian” and “medical battery.” Klitzman contends that freedom of choice has never been absolute when it endangers others, drawing parallels with bans on public smoking, traffic laws, and mandatory tax payment.
Central to his argument is the concept of herd immunity: most vaccines protect not just the individual but entire communities, including those who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. He cites data showing that approximately 37 percent of Americans are unaware of herd immunity, and that a brief three-sentence explanation significantly increases vaccination intent. He also critiques the CDC’s recent shift toward “shared decision-making” for childhood immunisations, arguing this approach is only appropriate when evidence is genuinely unclear — which it is not for vaccines. His conclusion is a call for every citizen, not just healthcare providers, to counter anti-vaccination misinformation in everyday conversations.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Autonomy Has Limits
Individual freedom ends where it begins to harm others — a principle already embedded in laws on smoking, traffic, and taxation, and equally applicable to vaccination.
Informed Consent Is Being Misused
Anti-vaxxers invoke “informed consent” and “medical battery” to oppose mandates, but true informed consent requires understanding risks and benefits — which many parents do not actually have.
37% Don’t Know About Herd Immunity
A study found that about 37 percent of Americans are unaware of herd immunity — but a simple three-sentence explanation significantly increases their willingness to vaccinate.
Unvaccinated People Endanger Others
Those who skip vaccines can infect people who are medically unable to receive them, and allow viruses to mutate in their bodies — producing new strains that even vaccinated people cannot fight.
“Shared Decision-Making” Is Being Misapplied
The CDC now advocates parental choice on childhood vaccines, but Klitzman argues this approach is only valid when evidence is genuinely ambiguous — which it is not for vaccines like polio or measles.
Everyone Can Help Counter the Rhetoric
Since healthcare providers lack time for extended conversations, the author calls on ordinary citizens to address anti-vaccination misinformation in their own personal and community relationships.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Anti-Vaccine Arguments Distort Bioethics to Undermine Public Health
Klitzman’s central argument is that anti-vaccination advocates are weaponising legitimate bioethical concepts — autonomy, informed consent, shared decision-making — in ways that contradict their actual meaning. Since most vaccines protect communities, not just individuals, refusing them is not a private choice but a public health risk that society has both precedent and justification to regulate.
Purpose
To Equip Readers to Counter Vaccine Misinformation
Klitzman writes to arm both healthcare providers and ordinary citizens with the conceptual tools to identify and rebut anti-vaccination rhetoric. His purpose is simultaneously corrective — dispelling the misuse of bioethical language — and mobilising, calling readers to engage in these conversations in their own communities rather than leaving the work to overstretched clinicians.
Structure
Narrative Hook → Critique → Evidence → Prescription
The article opens with a clinical anecdote to establish the author’s credibility and the persuasion challenge. It then targets specific anti-vaccination claims, deploys analogies from established law, introduces herd immunity data, critiques the CDC’s “shared decision-making” framing, and closes with a call to action directed at all readers — not just medical professionals.
Tone
Authoritative, Measured \& Urgently Persuasive
Klitzman writes with the measured authority of a clinician, grounding every argument in evidence or legal precedent rather than emotion. The tone is deliberately non-inflammatory — he addresses anti-vaccination positions analytically rather than with contempt — but grows more urgent in the closing paragraphs as he calls readers to active engagement.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Favouring or enforcing strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom; a term anti-vaxxers use to frame vaccine mandates.
“He says that requiring shots for entry to school is ‘authoritarian.'”
Strict, precise, and exacting; applied to rules, standards, or conditions that must be met rigorously and without exception.
“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre.”
To demand or specify something as a condition or requirement, typically within a contract, agreement, or legal framework.
“At times, our society stipulates that we pursue the greater good over our own preferences.”
To make known or reveal information, especially something considered private or sensitive; to disclose details to an authority or appropriate party.
“We require patients with syphilis to divulge the names and contact information of their sexual partners.”
To use or apply something incorrectly, especially a principle, rule, or concept — in ways that distort its intended meaning or purpose.
“Arguments about vaccine choice misapply key bioethical principles.”
Restricted or limited by external forces, rules, or circumstances; prevented from acting freely by an imposed boundary or obligation.
“Millions of drivers would like to ignore red lights and stop signs yet are constrained by law.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to the article, a person who is unvaccinated can pose a risk even to people who have already received a vaccine.
2Why does the author criticise the CDC’s promotion of “shared decision-making” for childhood immunisations?
3Which sentence best summarises the author’s core argument about the relationship between individual freedom and public responsibility?
4Evaluate these three statements about the data and claims presented in the article.
The article states that 37 percent of Americans plan to get vaccinated regardless of whether they understand herd immunity.
The article states that the tetanus vaccine, unlike most other vaccines discussed, primarily protects the individual who receives it rather than the wider community.
Kirk Milhoan, cited in the article, argues that vaccine mandates are necessary to protect public health from individual irresponsibility.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5The author opens with a clinical anecdote about hospitalised patients who refused life-saving treatment. What can most reasonably be inferred about why he begins the article this way?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Informed consent in medicine requires that a patient genuinely understands the risks and benefits of a procedure before agreeing or refusing it. Anti-vaxxers use the term to simply mean “the right to refuse” — but Klitzman argues that without actual understanding of what vaccines do and whom they protect, that refusal is not truly informed. Misusing the term allows them to frame mandates as violations when the real issue is inadequate comprehension.
Klitzman draws on widely accepted social constraints — bans on public smoking, traffic laws requiring stops at red lights, mandatory tax payment, and syphilis contact-tracing requirements — to show that society already routinely limits individual freedoms when they harm others. None of these are called “authoritarian.” His point is that vaccine mandates operate on the same logic and deserve the same acceptance.
Kirk Milhoan is the new chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in the US. Klitzman cites him as a prominent institutional voice for anti-vaccination positions — notably his claims that mandatory vaccination is “authoritarian” and constitutes “medical battery.” Because Milhoan holds an official public health role, his arguments carry real policy weight, making them a particularly important target for Klitzman’s rebuttal.
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This article is rated Intermediate. It introduces several domain-specific terms — bioethics, informed consent, herd immunity, shared decision-making — and requires readers to track a multi-layered argument that moves from clinical narrative to legal analogy to statistical data to policy critique. Readers need to distinguish between what the author asserts and what he attributes to opponents, making it well-suited to those developing analytical reading skills beyond the foundational level.
Robert Klitzman is a physician, psychiatrist, and bioethicist who writes the “Am I My Genes?” blog for Psychology Today. His work sits at the intersection of medicine, ethics, and public health — covering topics like patient autonomy, genetic testing, and healthcare policy. His clinical background gives him direct experience with the kind of patient persuasion challenges he describes in this article’s opening anecdote.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
