On Saturday, The Daily Beast reported that vaccine conspiracy theorists are looking for examples of people who were killed by the COVID-19 vaccines – although there are no documented cases of such deaths. Reinforcing his argument is a “dramatic video” that appears to show a reaction to the vaccine, but is considerably less than it appears.
“Antivaxxer rhetoric has for many months prepared some Americans to falsely believe that the COVID-19 vaccines will kill people, that the powers that be will suppress them and that they should hunt and share the evidence of this alleged outrage,” reported Mark Hay . “Experts in antivaxxer rhetoric and conspiracy theories fear that this wild hunt for deaths and disasters could lead reasonable but concerned people to conspiratorial rabbit holes, ultimately hampering efforts to contain this nightmare pandemic. Even some Old guard skeptics about vaccines are moving away from the frenzy. “
So far, the only safety concern with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines appears to be a slightly higher than expected incidence of allergic reactions, with six anaphylactic episodes reported – however, these were treated promptly and none of the incidents were fatal.
“In the past few days, antivaxxers looking for evidence of their hunches have brought up several other rumors,” the report said. “Most notably, on December 17, nurse Tiffany Dover of CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, received a dose of the vaccine and passed out 17 minutes later – all while on camera. She explained that she sometimes passes out in response to pain, a vasovagal syncope response that is not uncommon or dangerous. “However, noted New York Institute of Technology physician Jonathan Berman,” It was made for a dramatic video. “
Although the video proves that Dover was fine, some conspiracy theorists tried to claim that she did indeed die and was replaced by a “crisis actor”, with an anonymous user on Telegram saying, “Tiffany Dover’s hair has a shade and thickness different, folded differently on your head, mouth covered, and you can’t see your ice blue eyes. “
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