How to argue with a Covid antivaxer
Your guide to some of the most common and persuasive assertions — and why they are wrong
It’s not always nefarious plots by Bill Gates, brain control by 5G masts or elaborate conspiracies about a “plandemic” involving Pfizer-installed bioweapons. Some of the most compelling arguments by antivaxers use real data and cite official sources — but make faulty conclusions.
Here is science editor Tom Whipple’s guide to some of the most common and persuasive arguments — and why they are wrong.
Claim Thousands of people have died after getting the vaccine
Assessment We all die, eventually. And, trite as that sounds, that’s crucial in understanding one of the most common antivax claims: that official websites, such as that of the UK medical regulator, show the vaccines have caused mass deaths and disability.
Those websites do indeed record a bewildering array of post-vaccine
