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By now, nearly every adult in the U.S. who wants a COVID-19 vaccine has had the opportunity to receive at least a first shot. This also means that more than 100 million people do not want to be vaccinated at least not yet.
Vaccine hesitancy often develops through preexisting beliefs that are centered on politics, religion, the economy, parenting and health. Language that has been co-opted from controversial debates, and is repurposed to express hesitation, ends up amplifying the vaccine skepticism.
Take one example: “My body, my choice” is the slogan of the “medical freedom” movement spreading across the country. If this slogan sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Vaccine-skeptical groups, including the Tennessee Coalition for Vaccine Choice and Texans for Medical Freedom, have lifted the language and syntax of reproductive choice to promote their own agendas.