ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the various chapters of this book. The book identifies ways in which author's arguments could inform public policy debates about vaccine refusal. Vaccine refusers often live in do-it-yourself cultures that value epistemic individualism. Vaccine refusers often live in societies where public institutions are failing and where hyper-individualistic moral and political ideologies are ascendant. Republican presidential nomination began with a critical discussion of vaccine policy, led by Senator Paul Ryan and Governor Chris Christie. Some people seem committed to vaccine refusal because of their libertarian social and political ideals, but representatives from government institutions are extremely unlikely to convince people to abandon libertarianism. The book argues that parental distrust of mainstream medical authorities, and parental rejection of paternalistic styles of medicine, may sometimes contribute to vaccine denialism.
