These arrests are anti-free-speech and therefore anti-freedom. This is a classic short-sighted decision that opens the door for widening definitions of crises,

These arrests are anti-free-speech and therefore anti-freedom. This is a classic short-sighted decision that opens the door for widening definitions of crises, emergencies, etc. to justify any action or shut down opposing views. While these arrests have a clear and problematic free speech issue, I also think societies should be careful to preserve bodily autonomy in instances like this. People have a right to decide what goes or doesn't go in their own or their children's bodies. They get to decide what risks they are willing to take or not willing to take. Bodily autonomy is also an important part of the argument to preserve a woman's right to choose (abortion rights). Lastly - are people really factually wrong to distrust vaccines or the medical world in general? Note that this article mentions how nurses administered vaccines incorrectly previously (by mixing the vaccine with muscle relaxants), which is what set off public suspicion in the first place. That's the type of unexpected risk vector that spooks people and causes them to see risk even in highly-safe treatments, since some dangerous flaw can surprise patients out of nowhere. The medical world is full of stories of malpractice, orthogonal to the safety/efficacy of individual medicines. So it is totally understandable for people to sound the alarm and warn others. I also want to point out that there are various legitimate stories or issues for people to view vaccines with speculation/distrust: 1. Experimental vaccines administered in unsanctioned trials (2018: https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/recipients-of-experimental-herpes-vaccine-file-lawsuit-29953 https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/recipients-of-exp...) 2. WHO and FDA approve controversial vaccine despite serious safety issues, and then eventually reverse approval (2019: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/05/03/719037789/botched-vaccine-launch-has-deadly-repercussions https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/05/03/7190377...) 3. Note that even tenured vaccines do have a non-zero risk rate. See safety data at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/vaccines/mmr-vaccine.html for the MMR vaccine specifically. Talking about those issues openly and with precision (characterizing risks/tradeoffs transparently) is an important part of building public trust, getting things right, holding various parties accountable, and ultimately avoiding epidemics.