Are citizens in "Western" countries more likely to boycott the Covid vaccination?

[BigmanPigman]

I was just watching CNN and there are "Covid is a hoax" protests in London like there are in the US and other European countries. Do you think this is a common problem in certain countries while not in others? If so, what would account for this? I considered Russian propaganda as a factor but there are anti-vaxx/Covid protests in Russia too.

[canetoad]

1. Interesting question

The UK has it's share of nutjobs, we have a few here in Oz. Google provided this link and although it's from 2019 it seems applicable.

7 Countries Where Anti-Vaxxer Myths Are Fueling Outbreaks

America is far from the only country grappling with anti-vaxxer misinformation—and preventable diseases.

Anti-vaxxers in America continue to question the validity of vaccines, sometimes with devastating results: In the first two months of 2019, 159 cases of measles were diagnosed—more than were reported in all of 2017.

But the U.S. is not alone in facing anti-vaxxers: Despite the widespread availability of a vaccine, measles caused 110,000 deaths worldwide in 2017, mostly in children under 5. Around the globe, populist right-wing parties promote anti-vaxxer propaganda, with religious groups and inadequate health care systems compounding the problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) has named vaccine hesitancy one of the biggest global health threats in 2019.

Below are seven countries battling anti-vaxxer myths and misinformation—and facing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.

..France
Italy
Ukraine
Poland
England (interesting they don't say the UK)
Brazil
Japan

https://www.newsweek.com/anti-vaxxers-france-japan-1353202

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. The MMR problems in the UK were centered on London

which has seemed to be more anti-vax for Covid too:

Average uptake of MMR in England fell from 91.8 per cent in 1996 to 79.9 per cent in 2004; but it dropped below 80 per cent in only three English regions, and rates remained robust elsewhere in the United Kingdom (Figure 5.1)



https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK545996/

When you look at local authority rates for over-50 vaccine uptake, the bottom 20 are all in London: https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/first-covid-vaccine-doses-for-over-50s-by-england-local-authority/