Debating an anti-vaxxer, part 5,684

If you’ve valued reading The Signorile Report, consider becoming a paid subscriber and supporting independent, ad-free opinion journalism. Thanks!Once again, a person who claimed to have been vaccinated — though had been “hesitant” previously — called in to my SiriusXM program to argue against vaccine mandates.This time Shelly from Virginia claimed to be a health care worker. She also claimed that people should not be mandated to get vaccinated by employers and should in fact collect unemployment if they lose their jobs — as some Republican governors are now offering — because many people have been “vaccine-damaged” in the past. She particularly pointed to veterans.That is anti-vax terminology that has been floated among the anti-vax conspiracy theorists, going back to a video in 2020 about “vaccine damage” that has proven to be completely false. On a list of vaccine concerns for many different vaccines over decades, the CDC found no long-lasting “damage” proven to anyone, though there were many investigations of vaccines after people claimed problems.Regarding veterans, there have been many health outbreaks among them while they served on active duty military and later, some related to infections caused by needles that weren’t sterile, but there’s been no proof of any damage by vaccines. There have been numerous illnesses reported by veterans, particularly during the Gulf War, but none were proven to be caused by a vaccine, even though there have been many such claims.It might be true, as Shelly states, that many are afraid of vaccines based on these past beliefs and claims, but that should not warrant scrapping vaccine mandates to protect the greater public.If people need psychological help in dealing with getting over a fear of a vaccine they should seek it, as I told her.I finally had to just end the conversation with Shelly when she began to go back to the boilerplate anti-vax argument — that few people are supposedly dying of Covid-19 — as I won’t allow disinformation to spewed on my show.Why do I talk to these people at all? So that maybe someone on the fence who might be listening can see how foolish they sound. And also so that others who are promoting vaccines can be as forceful in rebutting these people — because they truly must be forcefully rebutted. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.signorile.com/subscribe