I’ve read Paul Kingsnorth’s anti-vaccine essay on Substack, and I suspect it might contribute to quite a few deaths. Why? Because his writing is elegant and powerful, but some of his facts are simply wrong.
Here's a very small sample:
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Here's a very small sample:
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Ireland “has the highest vaccination rate in Western Europe”.
No, Portugal, Spain and Italy have higher rates, while the Netherlands, France and Finland have roughly equal rates.
ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinat…
No, Portugal, Spain and Italy have higher rates, while the Netherlands, France and Finland have roughly equal rates.
ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinat…
Ireland has “some of the highest covid infection rates in Western Europe”
No, its rates are more or less in the middle:
ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/co…
No, its rates are more or less in the middle:
ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/co…
However, because of the generally strong measures it has taken, its *death rate* from covid-19, which is surely the crucial metric, but which Paul fails to mention, is lower than that of most Western European nations.
statista.com/statistics/110…
statista.com/statistics/110…
Covid vaccines “have been rolled out to millions before their clinical trials are even complete”.
This is a common claim, which confuses completion with continued safety monitoring. This, or so you would hope, is a feature of all vaccine programmes.
reuters.com/article/uk-fac…
This is a common claim, which confuses completion with continued safety monitoring. This, or so you would hope, is a feature of all vaccine programmes.
reuters.com/article/uk-fac…
I could go on, literally all day. His essay is crammed with false claims and resounding omissions. But I don’t have all day. So I’ll just say this. On a matter of science, it is not enough for a case to be well-constructed and well-written. It also has to be right.
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