I keep seeing these op-eds that float the idea that “liberals” or “leftists” are unusually focused on covid. I object to the framing of these pieces mostly because it’s perfectly rational to take steps to avoid infectious diseases. Nobody would say someone on a one night stand using a condom is “obsessed” with HIV or STDs. So framing medical masks as an unusual fixation is bizarre when covid continues to circulate, we’ve had a really bad flu season, and there are now measles outbreaks in multiple states.
And the reason I know MAGA is actually fixated on covid is because I occasionally watch right-wing MAGA videos by far right pundits and various right-wing content creators, to find out what they’re saying for myself. And on these videos, the ads are largely prepper stuff, supplements target marketed to men apparently with masculinity concerns – but the largest portion of the commercials seems to be bogus covid remedies, especially the debunked treatment ivermectin in “kits” being advertised. I saw an ad after the election with Tom Homan promoting some kind of EMP protection. And as recently as a few months ago, bogus covid kits with ivermectin were the sponsors on livestreams by right-wing religious organizations broadcasting Trump speeches. And remember, people wouldn’t keep advertising these kits or even making them if there wasn’t at least some level of continued demand. So we know that MAGA is still thinking about covid.
And yet I rarely seem to see The Atlantic running op-eds hand-wringing about the far right’s obsession with nonsense quack “alternative” covid remedies, or lamenting how MAGA is fixated on covid prevention and treatment.