Prof. Maya Goldenberg
Prof. Maya Goldenberg

Prof. Maya Goldenberg, Department of Philosophy, appeared on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin on Thursday, Jan. 7 to discuss why one in five Canadians are “hesitant” about vaccines.

Goldenberg specializes in the philosophy of science and medicine and has long examined why some people become wary of science and hesitant of vaccines.

She is also the author of Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science, which will be released this spring.

Goldenberg told the program that lot of the discomfort that many have with vaccines comes from not a lack of scientific understanding, but from mistrust in the authority figures that promote vaccines.

“And that’s got much more to do with the social circumstances that people find themselves in,” she said.

Goldenberg went on to offer her thoughts on what’s needed to prevent and combat such fears and mistrust.

Watch the full episode below: