Conspiracy theorists are pulling family being treated for Covid-19 out of ICUs
Death, stress and supply shortages: Any doctor who’s done it will tell you that working in Covid intensive care units is hell. But as the global anti-Covid vaccine movement grows and conspiracy theories around the pandemic thicken, ICU doctors around the world now face the added burden of defending themselves against attacks and disinformation.
Unsurprisingly, many of these attacks originate online. Telegram and Facebook groups opposing Covid-19 vaccinations are now issuing instructions to users on how to refuse medical interventions for loved ones receiving treatment in ICUs.
This week I spoke with six doctors and nurses working in ICUs across America, all of whom had recently dealt with so-called “against medical advice requests” where patients' relatives make treatment decisions that contradict hospital advice. Due to patient confidentiality all of the medical professionals I spoke to wanted to remain anonymous, but all said that they are seeing more and more cases of patients whose behavior is driven by conspiracy theories that have ICUs at their center.
The claim that hospitals are trying to rack up Covid-related death statistics in order to receive more money from governments has been around from the start of the pandemic. It has now given birth to dozens of satellite myths that are costing lives of patients around the world.