Vaccination in Europe: Attitude of the Anthroposophical Society

Abstract

The article is devoted to a relevant topic – the progress and readiness of the European society for vaccination against coronavirus and the public discussion that unfolded in European countries regarding the pace of the vaccine campaign, the safety of vaccines certified by the European Medicines Agency. The author analyzed the activities of one of the well-known religious and philosophical groups – the Anthroposophical Society in Germany, which has its own arguments, grounded in a religious and philosophical position, against any vaccination, and especially against insufficiently tested vaccines against COVID-19. The Anthroposophical Society is an influential world outlook organization and at the same time a corporation whose members implement their religious and philosophical views in the field of education, organic farming, the production of good quality cosmetics and medicines that are in demand among the population of European countries. Anthroposophic physicians in the context of a pandemic have launched work on the prevention of coronavirus infection, as well as on the rehabilitation of people who have undergone it. They insist on the inadmissibility of isolation measures for students of Waldorf schools, protest against the massive vaccination campaign. Their vigorous protests find support from skeptics who distrust government vaccination policies. As a result, anthroposophists reckon with the strength of the regional authorities and listen to the federal ones, since it demonstrates a certain vector of public opinion and sentiment associated with the vaccine campaign, which is necessary for a return to normal life.