Health expert calls vaccine conspiracy theories surrounding Hank Aaron’s death ridiculous

ATLANTA — Dr. Louis Sullivan is speaking out against conspiracy theories surrounding Hank Aaron’s death.

Sullivan is working to put the rumors to rest and letting people know that Aaron’s death had nothing to do with the COVID-19 vaccine.

“It is safe, and it’s effective,” Sullivan said

It is as simple as that, according to Sullivan. The 87-year-old and his wife got their first doses of the vaccine early this month.

“We were there, both to get the vaccine ourselves, and to demonstrate to the public that this is a vaccine that they should take, because this pandemic is the worst public health challenge we have faced as a country in 100 years,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan is a long-time minority health advocate and served as the nation’s Health and Human Services Secretary under President George H. W. Bush.

Sullivan is also the founding dean of the Morehouse School of Medicine, so he knows how to follow the science to make good decisions regarding health.

“So, we want to be sure that there’s no confusion. No hesitancy, no lack of trust in the quality of the vaccine,” Sullivan said.

When Sullivan and his wife got their vaccines, they were in good company with fellow community and civil rights leaders Ambassador Andrew Young and Xernona Clayton.

“Hank and Billye Aaron were there,” Sullivan recalled.

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Jan. 5 was the last tweet Aaron wrote, saying: “I was proud to get the COVID-19 vaccine earlier today at Morehouse School of Medicine. I hope you do the same!”

Unfortunately, Aaron died two-and-a-half weeks later on Jan. 22. The Fulton County Medical Examiner ruled Aaron’s death from natural causes, and there were no COVID-19 symptoms.

With all that information, people on social media continue to spread rumors that his death had something to do with COVID-19.

“The people who are trying to say there was a relationship between Hank’s death and the vaccine are absolutely wrong. That’s not true,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan is urging people not to believe conspiracy theories, but instead to follow the science.

“That was a pure coincidence, and it is though, if you might say, Hank was in a car before the day he died, and we try and attribute his death to being in a car. So that really is how ridiculous the efforts of the anti-vaccine people are in trying to discredit this vaccine,” Sullivan said.

In addition to getting the vaccine, Sullivan encourages people to continue to wear masks and to practice social distancing while working with an organization in New York called “Choose Healthy Life”.

The group is educating people about the importance of vaccines.

UGA researchers looking into how long vaccines will last against COVID-19 and its variants So far, the variant showing up the most in the U.S., including here in Georgia, is the variant initially found in the United Kingdom.

Cox Media Group