Our Country is Getting Slammed by Covid Again… Needlessly
The Delta variant has arrived in America and is dangerous to people who are unvaccinated. 83% of of new cases in the US are the Delta variant. Cases are up in 47 states across the country and deaths are trending up as well. Currently there are 100 million people in this country who are not vaccinated. Less than half of the US population is vaccinated. Some are children under 12 are not eligible but others are people who are either hesitant or strongly opposed to getting this vaccine. Unvaccinated people are at great risk because this variant is more contagious and we are all facing a set back to a return to business as usual and life as usual because too few eligible adults have gotten the vaccine.
There are also some breakthrough infections of people who are vaccinated as well, but those infections are not life threatening, unlike getting infected with the virus itself. Once vaccinated, your chances of being hospitalized and dying from Covid are extremely low: .01%. Vaccines are readily available in every state. If you are not vaccinated at this point what’s stopping you?
- Do you think you are too healthy to get this or you have super powers to resist being infected by this virus? Covid-19 is a NEW virus that people have not developed resistance to which is why we need the vaccine to teach the cells in our bodies, to help them create a cellular level defense system that protects us.
- Have you allowed yourself to be influenced by the dis and misinformation you have heard or read or seen thanks to Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, Brian Kilmeade and other conservative media hosts who are making millions of dollars by misinforming you? Do you realize that Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump got vaccinated long ago because they don’t want to die?
- Do you think you are asserting your First Amendment right to say no to a left wing conspiracy to place a microchip in your arm? Really? Really?! That is insane. You are psychotic and you need to get help.
- Do you think getting a vaccine will damage your DNA or that you will get Covid from the vaccine? It will not. Get accurate information on the CDC website:https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/facts.html
- Do you think the vaccine will keep you from getting an erection? No. But if you get Covid there is a chance you will. One study found that people infected with the virus were more than 5 times more likely to develop ED.
- Are you afraid of having a reaction to the vaccine? OK, you might get a sore arm and feel crummy for a day, but compare that to 1) dying of Covid, 2) long haul symptoms that can wreck your life including but not limited to: brain fog, fatigue, headaches, dizziness and shortness of breath, lack of a sense of taste and/or smell, nerve damage, heart damage, lung damage lasting long after the illness is over. No one knows if those long haul symptoms will ever go away. If you feel crummy after having a vaccine those symptoms WILL go away.
- Is it that you don’t know where to get the vaccine? Go to your local Walgreens! To schedule an appointment by phone, call your local pharmacy or 1-800-WALGREENS (1-800-925-4733).
Conservative Media Doesn’t Care About You
The fact that the misinformation is being pushed on conservative media is the most disgusting thing of all. It is the height of hypocrisy because these guys know better. Hosts like Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham are questioning the effectiveness of the vaccine presumably with the goal of helping you live your best life and doing what is safe for you and your family. But their anti-vax information is the opposite of that. They know better.
To his credit Steve Doocy on “Fox and Friends” told the viewers that 99% of Covid deaths are of unvaccinated people.
“They don’t wanna die,” Doocy responded, “so the administration and the government is saying we need the mask mandate to protect the unvaccinated.”
Kilmeade then claimed the government isn’t responsible for protecting its citizens from death.
Here is the answer.
The anti-vax messages on Fox are “all about undermining the Biden administration and denying Trump’s successor an opportunity to succeed”, according to Joseph Azam, former executive at Fox. Here is more of what he said:
Joseph Azam, a former senior vice president at News Corp in New York, said he saw a “straight line” between the vaccine-skeptical rhetoric of some of Fox’s most prominent hosts and entrenched resistance to vaccines in large swathes of the United States.
“I think Fox has been almost single-handedly responsible for the politicization of public health in the US and the creation of vaccine hesitancy in a significant portion of the population,”
When it comes to Facebook, there are 12 anti-vaxers who are spreading an overwhelming amount mis and dis information on Facebook. Who are these guys?
The Dirty Dozen
The vast majority of online misinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and coronavirus vaccines originates with just 12 accounts, according to a new report.
Those people, dubbed the “disinformation dozen” by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), include Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — nephew of former United States president John F. Kennedy — and Joseph Mercola, a well-known anti-vaxxer who peddles health supplements he claims can cure disease.
The other named perpetrators were the joint account of Ty and Charlene Bollinger, as well as the social media accounts of Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper and Kevin Jenkins.
Many of them are linked to the religious and/or wellness communities.
Elizabeth, who is partner to Mercola, also posted antisemitic conspiracy theories involving the Rothschild family, the report said.
Over 812,000 posts on Facebook and Twitter between February 1 and March 16, 2021, [were analyzed] and 65% of anti-vaccine content was ultimately attributable to those 12 individuals.
When looking at Facebook alone, the 12 peddlers of misinformation accounted for 73% of the content.
The CCDH said that those 12 influencers “do not have relevant medical expertise and have their own pockets to line,” while spreading misinformation about vaccine safety, as well as downplaying the danger of the pandemic.
The report said the anti-vaccine activists are reaching more than 59 million followers on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.
How Can You Help?
You can reach out to your friends and family members who are on Facebook and may be influenced by this misinformation. Let them know the names of the Dirty Dozen spreading misinformation.
If your friends and family are anti-vaxers who watch Fox News tell them to listen to Sean Hannity and Steve Doocy.
Tell them Steve Scalise, the Republican from Louisiana who is second in command in the House, just got his vaccine and is telling everyone it is safe and they should do what he just did.
Try to talk some sense into your friends and family who might listen to you. The best way to do that is not to put them down (as I have been doing in this post), but to ask them why they are resistant, listen to them, and then patiently explain the truth, urge them to talk with their own personal physician, offer to help them sign up for a vaccine, and go with them to get the shot if they are nervous about it.
The sooner we can get resistant Americans vaccinated, the sooner we can all get back to fuller lives and the better it will be for everyone, including our children under 12 who cannot yet get the vaccine but will be protected from getting Covid if adult household members are vaccinated. The more we are vaccinated the better for our businesses and the future of our country.