The anti-vaccine movement is literally killing Americans who are dying from coronavirus infections at a rate of nearly 2,000 per day almost two years after the first infections were discovered.
University researchers have projected that at least 100,000 additional Americans would die by December so we can say with confidence that the anti-vaccine movement is going to kill many more. But they could do worse and they apparently are.
Social media groups that have primarily opposed vaccination up to this point are now evolving (devolving?) into groups opposed to medical treatment in general.
Some doctors say the increased emphasis on home remedies and junk science is contributing to climbing hospitalizations which the social groups also oppose.
Consumed by conspiracy theories claiming that doctors are preventing unvaccinated patients from receiving miracle cures or are even killing them on purpose, some people in anti-vaccine and pro-ivermectin Facebook groups are telling those with Covid-19 to stay away from hospitals and instead try increasingly dangerous at-home treatments, according to posts seen by NBC News over the past few weeks.
“We were down to four Covid patients two months ago. In this surge, we’ve had 40 to 50 patients with Covid on four different ICU services, 97 percent of them unvaccinated,” said Wes Ely, an ICU doctor and professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “We were making headway, and now we’re just losing really, really badly. There’s something that’s happening on the internet, and it’s dramatically increasing steam.” [...]
Others are turning away from hospitals altogether. In recent weeks, some anti-vaccine Facebook groups and conspiracy theory influencers on the encrypted messaging app Telegram have offered instructions on how to get family members released from the hospital, usually by insisting they be transferred into hospice care, and have recorded those they’ve successfully removed from hospitals for viral videos.
When I was kid, I was taught that you shouldn't jump off a cliff just because everyone else does. I think we were all taught that at some point in our lives, but for whatever reason some American no longer possess any instincts for self preservation. Some Americans will jump off a cliff for the clicks.
I don't want to say 'I don't care' because it is causing problems for everyone else. Some retail chains such as Costco, for example, are reinstating limits on buying paper goods because the lingering pandemic is causing shortages all over again.
But with all of that said, fuck'em. Let them die. I don't care.
The Republican party death cult can commit collective suicide and leave this planet for the rest of the world.