The vaccine disinformation playbook includes the use of fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry-picked data and conspiracy theories. Not a single qualified medical or public health expert has supported the claim that my husband died from Covid vaccination. Logical fallacies, also known as cognitive biases, are mental shortcuts we use to simplify information, but which also leave us vulnerable to errors in judgment. The most common logical fallacy is to say that because A happened before B, A must have caused B. Given that over 80 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, chances are that most Americans who die today will have been vaccinated, but that doesn’t mean they died from their vaccinations. To be clear, there is no increased risk of death from non-Covid causes after Covid vaccination.
Other logical fallacies include non sequiturs, posing the question while assuming the answer and failing to consider alternative hypotheses. Vaccine disinformationists have incorrectly linked myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle — which is far more likely to be caused by Covid infection than by Covid vaccination — to my husband’s aortic aneurysm. Yes, the aorta and the heart are in the same vicinity, but the relevance stops there. It does not logically follow that Covid vaccination was a risk factor for his condition. Others have called for investigations into his death as if information is being suppressed. I, too, wanted to know what happened to my Grant. Did I miss something? Was there something that could have been done to prevent this? This is why I requested an autopsy.
Vaccine disinformationists have cherry-picked data to support their claims, failing to note that genetic connective tissue disorders are important risk factors for ascending aortic aneurysms (and in my husband’s case the most likely risk factor, as early genetic test results suggest).
When disinformation profiteers leverage tragedies like Grant’s and Mr. Hamlin’s for their personal gain, they re-traumatize families, compromising our ability to interpret information and distinguish truth from lies and putting all of us at risk. The results of allowing this to continue will be disastrous. Merchants of disinformation argue that vaccines killed my husband, but they’re also at least in part responsible for the return of polio to the United States and the fact that so many children in Ohio are suffering from measles right now. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that while most of the public still supports routine childhood vaccinations, significantly fewer people support requirements that children be vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella than did just two years ago. In December, Congress repealed a Covid vaccine mandate for troops even though doing so threatens military readiness and puts our nation’s security at risk.
I believe in karma. Even if it’s used against me as a threat. I believe that what we put out into the world shapes our experience of it. Karma is what brought Grant into my life. Karma is what sustained our marriage through trials, adversities and endless work pressures that demanded every piece of us. Karma is why Grant touched so many people’s lives. I was reminded of this at his memorial service in New York City, which was attended by several hundred people in person and many more on Zoom. Karma resulted in tributes in numerous publications, on social media and in private messages.
Grant will be remembered for his kindness, openness and generosity. His legacy is his commitment to seeking truth through reporting, supporting human rights and fighting for equality. I will continue to honor Grant by living by our shared values. I’m channeling my grief into something productive: protecting the public’s health against those who would profit from the suffering of others.
Céline Gounder
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