In a monologue on “The Daily Show” Monday, host Trevor Noah said Americans have “failed at something so easily achievable” by not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, and claimed the media should not be covering cases of adverse reactions to the vaccine because it does not fit the preferred narrative.
“You know honestly, in these divided times, it’s just great to see all Americans coming together,” Noah said. “To fail at something so easily achievable. Thanks to the many people who refuse to take a life-saving vaccine, experts now think that coronavirus is basically going to become one of those anti-virus pop-ups.”
Noah blamed “anti-vaxxers,” but also journalists for reporting on vaccine side effects.
“The media loves running stories about the few people who are having adverse reactions to the vaccine. ‘Oh man got a vaccine, now his foot is sore. Oh, woman got a vaccine, now she forgot it’s Thursday.’ Because even though those cases are a tiny minority, those are the stories that people want to hear the most, right?” he said.
It is unclear why Noah would object to the media covering casess of adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine. As reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday, there have been 64 adverse reaction cases to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 4,000 adverse cases were reported back in January upon people receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
This does not mean people should not receive the vaccine. The efficacy rates are 90 percent or more, but like all health care decisions, it is a personal one. It would seem to be disingenuous if adverse reaction cases were concealed to the American public.
