Former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell died from complications from Covid-19, and some are using his death to raise questions about the effectiveness of COVID vaccines.
However, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier isn’t letting that happen and calling out those using Powell’s death to discredit the vaccine, including those on her network. Saphier appeared on “America Reports,” doing her best to stop the wildfire following Powell’s death.
“While you can see people all over social media trying to use this anecdotal report of Secretary Powell dying from a COVID breakthrough, why don’t we just stick with what we do know, and we’ll leave it with that?” Saphier said.
“We have an 84-year-old man who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, had been previously treated for prostate cancer, and was also undergoing treatments for multiple myeloma, as Jennifer mentioned. That is a cancer of the blood.”
Saphier further expressed her frustration regarding those using Powell’s death to spread vaccine hesitancy.
“It’s very upsetting to see that people taking Colin Powell’s death [and] a using it as ‘the vaccine didn’t work.’ This is a very specific situation and to use someone’s death to try and make a point that really doesn’t carry a lot of weight to it is very frustrating,” Spahier said.
On Monday, Fox News anchor John Roberts deleted a tweet about Powell and vaccines hours earlier before hosting the segment with Saphier.
I deleted my tweet about the tragic death of Colin Powell because many people interpreted it as anti-vax. It was not. I was excited to get vaccinated, hoping it would help speed a return to ‘normal life’. I also did a PSA on Fox encouraging vaccination for those able,” Roberts tweeted.
“As we all know, the FDA is now recommending boosters for certain people, and I personally know a number of people who have had breakthrough infections – some of them, quite troubling. Yes, Powell had myeloma, but I was still stunned to hear of his passing from COVID.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
