MSNBC anchor Brian Williams accuses Senator Ron Johnson (R,WI) of being a Russian agent. Why? Because the congressman announced, quite reasonably, that he had Covid-19, was tested, had antibodies in his blood, and was advised by his physician not get the vaccine because he did not need it. Giving medicine to someone who does not need it is unethical.
The CDC advises people who recovered from Covid-19 to be vaccinated. This is illogical and goes against everything we know about immunity. Having the disease in question produces at least as much immunity as the vaccine.
For example, before mumps vaccine was available, parents would expose young boys to mumps, so they would not get it after they matured and risk infertility. Those boys almost never got mumps again. But now children receive mumps vaccine. Almost every year there is a mumps outbreak in fraternity houses or college dorms. Mumps vaccine is effective, but not as effective as having mumps. There is no reason to assume this is not equally true for Covid-19 vaccine.
In New York Times v Sullivan, the Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that for a public figure to sue for defamation, he had to show actual malice. That is, he had to prove the accusation was untrue, and the person knew it was untrue but said or wrote it anyhow, out of malice. This is almost impossible to prove. As a result, unlike in the UK, you can accuse politicians and others in the public eye of the most awful offenses without proof, and they can do nothing.
In my opinion, this decision went too far. But even so, William’s accusation is utterly ridiculous and unfounded. Senator Johnson’s explanation of why he isn’t getting the vaccine is entirely logical and has nothing whatever to do with Russians, any more than it has to do with Klingons. Johnson should sue MSNBC and Williams for defamation. The accusation is a complete fabrication. And if this egregious case results in modifying the Supreme Court decision, so much the better. Politicians should be subject to the harshest criticism, but not to outright fabrications.