ABSTRACT
Vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon in Norway. It has been connected to animal protection in the 1920s–1950s, and religion and medicine in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. After the launch of the internet and social media, in their nature transnational and instantaneous, vaccine hesitancy has become important for far more people than it was previously. In Norway, trust in authorities is normally high, reflected in the high vaccine coverage of the Childhood Vaccination Programme, and in the Corona Vaccine Programme. However, vaccine hesitancy exists, and is communicated by a heterogenous mix – right-wing groups, alternative health groups, and Christians, as in Protestant charismatic movements – finding togetherness in a fight against authoritarian repression. Research material in this chapter includes mainly traditional media (newspaper articles), and some and social media items (Facebook pages and YouTube videos), analysing COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Christian charismatic movements, where vaccine counter narratives presented are both well known (“corona vaccine changes DNA”, “corona is planned by authorities who have an agenda” etc.), and unique, by the corona virus being interpreted in the context of different Bible passages.
