There is another round of disinformation around COVID vaccines related to the Amish, originating from people like Steve Kirsch, who doesn’t have a science or medicine background and makes false vaccine claims, which are easily debunked.
What does a real source say about COVID in this population?
Closed religious communities also resist epidemiological surveillance. The same factors that put these communities at high risk for infectious disease outbreaks—lack of trust in medicine and the state, reluctance to receive routine and preventative healthcare, and closed communication networks—also make their members less likely to avail themselves of testing for COVID-19. Even among those tested, it may be difficult to connect their tests back to their religious communities without information about religious affiliation. Moreover, it is difficult to distinguish their COVID-19 transmission and death rates from surrounding communities.
CRCs are sectarian groups in tension with their environment’s dominant culture. This tension leads these communities to erect boundaries between themselves and outsiders, limiting interaction.
These communities warrant close monitoring, given their history of infectious disease outbreaks. However, some community members distrust state officials and medical providers, which undermine efforts to monitor public health. Additionally, since some groups prefer natural remedies to modern medicine, their members avoid routine medical care and are less likely to be tested for COVID-19. After a COVID-19 outbreak in an Amish community in Ohio, the local health department set up a testing site to track the spread. According to Ali et al, more traditional community members did not participate in the testing clinic, implying they won’t seek testing independently.
Our findings reflect the older Amish and Mennonites’ vulnerability in the population, as the average age of death is consistently higher after June 2020. The results indicate the average age of death during the first wave (March through May) was lower than the baseline average, suggesting the initial two waves of COVID-19 may have impacted people in the population with underlying health risks. In general, the Amish and the Mennonites were subject to government guidelines in March and April limiting religious gatherings. Many groups complied with the CDC’s recommendations to limit contact. However, when restrictions were lifted during the summer of 2020, many of these communities resumed church services. The importance of face-to-face rituals in CRCs and Amish groups’ general resistance to mask-wearing and other CDC guidelines makes them especially vulnerable to COVID-19. Indeed, we see the number of excess deaths spike in October and November when many governmental restrictions relaxed and many of the Amish and Mennonite groups were engaging in face-to-face interactions.
The large number of excess deaths among the Amish and Mennonite community is concerning, as it indicates not only the presence, but the impact of COVID-19 on this community.
Addendum
Steve Kirsch was caught lying yet again.
