Consider the source(s)

We know a couple of things about Cole Beasley, the former Dallas Cowboy turned Buffalo Bill. One, he’s terrific at making catches over the middle. Two, he is not a doctor or scientist.

When it comes to who we get our information from, we should always consider the source. And the best sources of information—the doctors, scientists and institutions we trust with our public health every day—have made it clear that covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing the disease.

We aren’t trying to pick on Beasley. But he has emerged as a public voice needlessly sowing doubt in the safety of vaccination at a time when America desperately needs its public figures to speak up for vaccinations that can, have and will save lives.

Beasley’s public statements on the matter are a study in the way people without the facts undermine the facts. He claimed he isn’t anti-vaccination or pro-vaccination, that he’s simply prochoice, just a guy asking questions.

We hear or see this sort of cryptic language a lot, often online, suggesting without evidence a conspiracy.

In fact, the safety of the vaccines has been exhaustively studied. Information about their side effects and about exceedingly rare cases of medical complications are readily available on the websites of respected medical resources, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Johns Hopkins Medical School, among others. Hundreds of millions of people have been safely vaccinated around the world, saving untold lives and permitting us to begin to return to normal life.

We know beyond doubt now that the current covid-19 crisis is almost exclusively a result of the failure of people to get vaccinated.