- Anti-vaxxers are already attacking coronavirus vaccine development with wild conspiracy theories and unfounded claims.
- Popular anti-vaccination “activists” allege that the virus isn’t as bad as everyone says.
- Some of the more unhinged conspiracy theorists are blaming 5G wireless networks for the viral pandemic.
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The dangerously misguided anti-vaccination movement is based on junk science and outright lies, so you just had to know that the novel coronavirus pandemic would add even more fuel to the conspiratorial fire. It appears to have done just that, and as doctors and scientists around the globe furiously work to develop a vaccine that could save countless lives, there are already people actively working to undermine their efforts.
Anti-vaxxers around the world have been coming up with their own explanations for how and why the coronavirus pandemic descended upon the global populous, and they’re a predictable mix of unprovable claims, laughable conspiracy theories, and dangerous lies.
As Katherine Gammon of Undark.org reports, many of the major players in the anti-vaxxer movement — individuals making a living by pushing vaccine conspiracies via YouTube or other avenues that can reach millions of people — are already targeting the inevitable COVID-19 vaccine.
It’s the same individuals that have been arguing against vaccinations for diseases like measles, which at one point was completely eradicated in the United States. Despite that, many states were anti-vaccination movements have blossomed experienced huge outbreaks of measles just last year. The vast majority of those infected were young children, forcing schools to issue stay-home orders to parents with unvaccinated children.
Anti-vaxxer “celebrities” are now conjuring their own realities surrounding the novel coronavirus. One popular anti-vaxxer whose videos regularly get hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube has claimed that the virus isn’t nearly as bad as the data shows. Even going to so far as to say that “Covid is harmless to almost everyone” aside from the elderly.
As we’ve seen countless times over the past few months, COVID-19 can claim the lives of anyone, regardless of their age. Individuals in high-risk categories are indeed the most vulnerable, but there are many examples of healthy individuals becoming severely ill and, in many cases, dying as a result of a COVID-19 infection.
But perhaps the most absurd of all the conspiracy theories being peddled by anti-vaxxers is that the pandemic we’re dealing with is actually the result of the deployment of 5G wireless technology. This claim is almost too stupid to even address, but organizations like Ofcom have done so anyway, breaking down the science behind how we use the electromagnetic spectrum, where various signals for TV, mobile phones, and Wi-Fi live in the airwaves and the frequencies which are actually harmful to humans.
Put simply, cell phone towers aren’t responsible for a viral pandemic. I know, I can’t believe I have to actually write that, but that’s apparently what it’s come down to.
All of this nonsense is leading to one place, and you already know what it is. The life-saving COVID-19 vaccine, whenever it arrives, will be decried by anti-vaxxers as yet another way the world’s governments are trying to exploit or control their citizens.
Is there any way to fight that line of thinking? Not really. The anti-vaxxer community has already proven itself immune to actual scientific research (it’s all a scam!), advice from health experts (they’re being paid off!), and common sense (what’s that?), so prepare yourselves. The pro-coronavirus, anti-vaccination movement is already stirring.
