Books

‘We Want Them Infected’ shows COVID disinformation within medicine

Anti-vaxxers and other COVID denialists are damned by their own words.

August 4, 2023

As of the writing of this article, the United States has suffered more than 1.1 million deaths from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. How many of these deaths were preventable is arguable; what cannot be argued is that a percentage were caused, directly or indirectly, by the propagation of misinformation regarding the virus, how it spread, and its treatment/prognosis.

In We Want Them Infected, Jonathan Howard, MD, paints a vivid picture of how factors like deliberate contrarianism and the valuing of popularity over proof led to many Americans being unaware, if not simply ignorant, of the real threat posed by COVID-19. Howard’s work illuminates how a number of medical professionals advocated against the usage of a COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to other preventative measures, for a myriad of decidedly unprofessional reasons.

Considering that COVID is expected to make a resurgence in the upcoming fall and winter months, I believe that, while We Want Them Infected leaves something to be desired on the engagement front, the text here could be instrumental in countering further efforts to undermine confidence in public health officials, as well as generally steering those who read it away from repeating the chaos during the height of lockdown.

Howard has certainly done his due diligence in putting We Want Them Infected together. A little less than a quarter of the book is dedicated to references, and it shows in the composition. Pulling data and quotations extensively from the past three years, Howard is able to take many of the popular anti-vaccine promoters to task in painstaking detail. Sure, it’s relatively easy for most people to dismiss the soothsayers and conspiracy theorists, but for the readers who may have currently or previously espoused the talking points of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and similar individuals, Howard spares no effort in dismantling their arguments and platforms.

The penultimate chapter of We Want Them Infected features point-by-point refutations of numerous anti-vaxxer arguments, one of which features some of Kennedy’s “evidence” to suggest that abstaining from vaccines is better for children. Howard is able to provide clear and cogent proof of the folly of Kennedy’s argument (as well as those of his supporters and similar thinkers).

What’s more is that, despite the massive quantity of data that Howard fits into this We Want Them Infected, the points he makes or reinforces remain easy to understand, thanks to accessible language and writing that prioritizes the facts. Chapter 7 displays a record of comments made by the likes of Drs. Martin Kulldorff and Jay Bhattacharya, Dr. Monica Gandhi, and others regarding their questionable views on the pandemic and its spread from between March 2020 and December 2022, with each and every bulleted item having a corresponding source. This attention to detail is balanced by Howard’s doctoral voice in the text that brackets these swaths of data; pleasant and avuncular, yet still very grounded in reality.

By contrast, while the data in We Want Them Infected is researched and put together well, that may not translate to a particularly exciting read. Understanding the methods by which bad actors were able to spread misinformation about COVID-19 is interesting, but it’s not necessarily entertaining. Though I suppose that, given the subject matter Howard’s handling here, providing a spectacle for his readers was probably not the end goal. Still, I found myself struggling to get through the final chapters, which may be more expressly arresting to academics or Howard’s contemporaries.

A valuable resource in combating misinformation.

Ultimately, while We Want Them Infected isn’t a book I’d recommend in the same way I would a more leisurely read, if you find research on what will surely be seen as one of the defining events of this decade fascinating, then I would suggest it. From the searing evaluation of anti-vaxxer pundits and their commentary to the detailed sourcing behind them, Howard has constructed a valuable resource in combating misinformation about one of the major ongoing conditions affecting our society.

AIPT Science is co-presented by AIPT and the New York City Skeptics.