Could the new coronavirus weaken 'anti-vaxxers'?

FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators, including anti-vaccine protestors, stand outside of the U.S. Grant Hotel following U.S. President Donald Trump's arrival in San Diego, California, U.S., September 18, 2019. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

LISBON (Reuters) - An American mother-of-three is a long-time member of "anti-vaxxer" groups online: a small but vocal global community that believes vaccines are a dangerous con and refuse to immunize themselves or their children.

But COVID-19 is shaking her views. The woman who would identify herself only as Stephanie, citing a fear of reprisals from committed anti-vaxxers, says she is now 50:50 on taking a vaccine should one be discovered for the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.