The Precarious Definitions and Redefinitions of Vaccine Vernacular

Language is one of the key battlegrounds on which the culture war is fought. Throughout the so-called pandemic, we have seen a strategic redefinition of the word vaccine. What previously, for almost 100 years, was defined as a preparation of weakened organisms injected to increase immunity to a particular disease is now any preparation injected to stimulate the body’s immune response against a specific disease. Under the new definition, the scope of what could be classified as a vaccine is vast. Likewise, the CDC’s definition of word vaccination has also been gradually evolving over time:

I believe that we have lost significant cultural ground by letting the mass media and medical establishment get away with this slight of hand. We are now at a point where even those opposed to the alleged vaccines are following suit with the new definitions by consistently using the terms ‘vaccinated’ and ‘unvaccinated’. The only dissident alternatives which have emerged are the terms ‘pureblood’ and ‘mudblood’; but these carry an informality and pompousness to them which make them quite unpalatable for general use. Perhaps the simple ‘injected’ and ‘uninjected’ are more appropriate: the new supposed definition of vaccine is so broad anyways that you may as well just call it an injection. Maybe it’s time to stop using the word vaccine unless you consistently preface it by saying either ‘traditional’ or ‘mRNA’. And perhaps we should call them injection passports rather than vaccine passports.

Another word which has a noteworthy definition under Merriam-Webster is anti-vaxxer, which they define as “a person who opposes the use of vaccines or regulations that mandate vaccination”. The premise of this definition is that someone who opposes a specific vaccine or type of vaccine, opposes all vaccines. This is a disconcerting premise considering the aforementioned breadth of what classifies as a vaccine these days. Also, since when did an anti-vaxxer include those who are not necessarily opposed to vaccines but are opposed to vaccine laws? Perhaps in the next two years they will expand the term anti-vaxxer to include anyone opposed to forcible quarantining in government camps.

Language is a key battleground. We have to fight them tooth-and-nail for ever single term, definition and redefinition they attempt to enact. We must find and use our own alternatives whenever feasible and we can not keep letting them get away with these language tricks.