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In the days leading up to his death, baseball legend Hank Aaron attempted to set an example for the black community by getting vaccinated against COVID-19. He urged others to do the same, knowing that black Americans are less likely to get the vaccine.
Today, in the days since his death, Aaron’s endorsement of the vaccination is being used by conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers to undermine his work.
They claim – baselessly – that Aaron died from the vaccine. In fact, the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office said on Monday that Aaron died of natural causes. The Braves announced that Aaron, 86, had died in his sleep.
But it’s a sign of the times that people, especially on social media, are going to jump to their own conclusions. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaxxer and lawyer, has led the spread of disinformation here – calling Aaron’s death “suspicious” even though there is no evidence of it.
This seemed like a predictable outcome, based on how the world works in 2021. Dr Carlos del Rio, the executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine, spoke to NBC News and said that Aaron had chosen to be vaccinated publicly. “double-edged sword.”
“We are making its vaccination public so that it can be used to boost vaccination,” del Rio said on Monday. “Unfortunately, because his vaccination was made public and then he died, now we have a little boomerang effect in which he comes to haunt us because he died.”
But in reality, del Rio said he had “absolute confidence that his death had nothing to do with the vaccine and that it had to do with his being old and frail.”
Aaron has proven to be a hero in his life – the kind of one who has hit a record number of home runs and one who has helped advance black Americans during the civil rights struggle. In his last days, he still tried to do what he thought was right.
Don’t let a conspiracy theory lead you to believe otherwise.
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