Candace Owens is using her platform to perpetuate misinformation about Coronavirus vaccine efficacy and says she is willing to die before taking the shot. Owens, a conservative commentator, said she would not take the COVID vaccine on her death bed. Is she tempting fate?
Having shown up at a UFC fight in Madison Square Gardens where vaccines are mandatory, a Twitter user questioned whether the out-spoken TV host was vaxxed while she was recording her show "Candace" recently.
She replied, "I would say to the people, first and foremost, I am obviously unvaccinated...I am not getting this vaccine, ever."
"Never going to get it. I don't care if I'm on my deathbed and they say 'it can save you,' I'm not going to get it."
"I'm principally now opposed to [the vaccine], and I do not understand why anybody who is healthy, able-bodied, and young, would ever get this vaccine if you're not at risk of COVID," she said.
Several prominent conservative anti-vaxxers have indeed lost their lives by being infected with the virus. Marcus Lamb , the pastor who founded the Daystar Network and told people to pray against the virus on air died from it. Tennessee-based conservative talk radio host Phil Valentine also passed away from COVID. Washington State senator Doug Erickson and many others like him who have used their bull horn to advocate against getting vaccinations are gone. Owens seems un-phased that denial has landed plenty of conservative skeptics in their graves.
Owens' position on the Coronavirus has apparently evolved. In September she attempted to get vaccinated an said the clinic turned her down. The clinic confirmed they refused to vaccinated her citing hypocrisy for her having spread misinformation. Apparently at the time she was willing to follow CDC guidance. She now completely resists the science that some Americans who share her political views have come to accept.
In December, former Pres. Donald Trump told Owens in an appearance on her show that the vaccines were reliable. “People aren’t dying when they take the vaccine,” explained Trump, adding that all 3 of the vaccines that were developed when he was in office are safe.
She ultimately came to the conclusion that Trump, the man who jump-started her career, was too old to find the truth.
Medical experts have repeatedly stated that the vaccine lessens the spread and is a shield against death. With hospitals filling up with new Coronavirus cases, health officials are AS of this report, there are now more than 145,000 Americans in hospitals (the highest level to date) and the vast majority are unvaccinated. Hospital beds being taken up with patients who are sick with COVID are displacing people with other medical needs. This increases the potential for anyone getting the virus to other virus not to receive the medical attention they need. A significant number of people are going to the hospital for something else and testing positive for COVID. People with Owens' mentality are contributing to the problem.
Some time after appearing on the show Trump has stated that he does not think young people should necessarily get vaccinated. Although, the ex-leader of the country has come out in support of the shot that he take credit for developing, he says the shots should be reserved for older people or the immunocompromised.
"I don't think that certainly, these young kids should take it," he said, according to a clip of the interview published by Mediaite, adding, "Their immune systems are so strong."
Instead of respecting the science handed down by the CDC, Owens continues to rely on her own research from non-mainstream sources that tend to embrace conspiracy theories and perhaps has gotten Trump to partially agree with her.