Sarah Palin Denounces Getting Covid-19 Vaccine, Says ‘Over My Dead Body’

Did former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin just “refudiate” the Covid-19 vaccine? While being interviewed by Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest, Palin said that “It’ll be over my dead body that I’ll have to get a shot. I will not do it. I won’t do it, and they better not touch my kids, either.” You can hear the interview segment in the video accompanying the following tweet:

Hmmm, was “over my dead body” really the best choice of words? Over 800,000 people in the U.S. have already died from Covid-19. So is it that good an idea to dare the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2):

Gee, what can prevent death from the SARS-CoV-2? How about the Covid-19 vaccines? During a November 22 White House briefing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, said, “Even in our updated data, unvaccinated people are at 14 times greater risk of dying from COVID-19 than people who are vaccinated.” One caveat, though. You have to get the vaccine before death to prevent it:

Yeah, details, details.

Palin may not see getting vaccinated from her house. But the Republican Party’s 2008 candidate for Vice President didn’t stop with herself, her family, or her house. She encouraged others to “rise up” against Covid-19 vaccination. Palin said, “If enough of us, though, rise up and say, ‘No, enough is enough,’ there are more of us than there are of them.”

More of us than there are of them? Who exactly is “us” and “them?” Is she referring to the vaccine hesitant (i.e., those who are hesitant to get the vaccine) and the anti-vaxxers (i.e., those who are actively trying to convince others to not get vaccinated) as “us?” Let’s check the math on that. A peek at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Covid Data Tracker reveals that 61.4% of the total U.S. population and 72.4% of those 18 years and older have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Assuming that she wasn’t telling five year olds and other kids to “rise up,” does that mean she was speaking to at most 28% of the adult population?

A bit later in the conversation, Palin urged, “You need to all look around and… realize that those around you, as you stiffen your spine, their spines, too, will stiffen!” She added, “And there is an empowerment in a group like this where you all can feed off each other, and really be strong.”

Who exactly is Palin trying to enpower by standing against the Covid-19 vaccines? The SARS-CoV-2? Isn’t that the enemy? Is she getting the enemy confused with the allies? Well, during a 2010 interview on Glenn Beck’s radio show, Palin apparently did say, “But obviously, we’ve got to stand with our North Korean allies.” Obviously.

Palin may argue that she was already infected with the SARS-CoV-2 and thus has natural immunity, Back in March, Benjamin VanHoose and Tim McGovern covered for People how Palin had tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus, said that Covid-19 can “really knock you down,” and encouraged everyone to wear face masks indoors. However, where’s the evidence that a single infection with the SARS-CoV-2 will provide the same level of immune protection as being fully vaccinated plus getting a booster? As I’ve covered previously for Forbes, a study showed that 36% of people recovering from Covid-19 didn’t even develop antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2. Another study, which I’ve also covered for Forbes, found that among people who had already had Covid-19 those unvaccinated were 2.34 times as likely to get re-infected compared to those who were fully vaccinated.

While the Covid-19 vaccines are not perfect, you can’t “refudiate” the scientific evidence that they offer protection. By the way, “refudiate” was not a word before Palin used in 2010, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It’s still not really a word like refute or repudiate as this CBS News segment indicated:

But that’s not exactly where the problem “enlies,” right?

So what’s the rock bottom line? Should you get fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as long as you don’t have a clear medical contraindication as determined by a real medical doctor? You betcha.