Sergio Agüero, during his press conference in which he announced his retirement. /
At the moment, the game that we all play against the covid is in a draw. Every time we get ahead on the scoreboard, the virus scores us a goal again. When it seemed that we had it under control, the contagions return and, with them, the capacity limitations in the stadiums. Fake news on any aspect related to the pandemic is also strengthened. For weeks the news spread like wildfire that the heart ailment, which forced ‘Kun’ Agüero to withdraw, had been caused by the covid-19 vaccine. It does not matter that his cardiologist denies it, nor that it comes to light that the footballer had already suffered heart problems in the past, or that the health authorities ensure that arrhythmias are not among the side effects of the vaccine. There are those who are willing to believe any hoax. Why?
When some extraordinary, almost incredible event occurs (like the one we are experiencing), our notion of verisimilitude is removed. Brutal and unexpected events always happened in remote and exotic places. We – the first world – were safeguarded by the State, Science and Technology, the Capitoline triad in which we professed an unshakable faith. But lo and behold, what was only raised in dystopian novels is truly happening. And then, the boundaries between reality and fiction dissolved, and confidence in those who kept us safe has diminished, the ground is paved for any theory to germinate, however implausible it may seem: that covid is cured with bleach, which is a viral experiment of some superpower or that with the vaccine they inoculate us with a deadly substance to control world demography.
Faced with a situation of fear and insecurity, society demands certainties. Confident that we have answers for everything, when they are not found, we invent them. By not accepting that the political-scientific-technological structure has its limitations and that it is not always capable of providing incontrovertible conclusions, there are those who completely discredit it and are willing to believe any alternative discourse. Of course, power is not always sincere. The state lies. One hides the truth about the GAL, another about the Iraq War. And crises are minimized: economic, political, medical, trying to camouflage the facts. But this should not open the door for any nonsense to sneak in, on the pretext that we must doubt what is established and that we are facing a conspiracy to hide all reality from us. The dimensions and problems of the pandemic can be discussed, but the evidence that the disease exists cannot be denied; One can have reservations about the efficacy and side effects of vaccines, even about who benefits from the alarm situation, but not star in grotesque, like that of the journalist Enrique de Diego, who accused ‘Kun’ Agüero of “promoting the “poison of death” by not admitting that his withdrawal was due to the vaccine.
Cardiologists have found a small scar in Agüero’s heart that explains the short circuits he experiences. When Eriksen collapsed after cardiac arrest at the last European Championship, the theory that it was all due to anti-covid drugs also went viral. The rumor lasted until the Danish Football Federation and Inter Milan denied that the footballer had even been vaccinated. Eriksen preferred to believe the medical evidence and agreed to have an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) implanted, which can prevent sudden death in the future.
Adama Traoré of Sheriff Tiraspol, Victor Lindelöf of Manchester United or Piotr Zielinski of Naples have had to withdraw from the pitch in a game lately, suffering from arrhythmias, chest pain and shortness of breath. In the networks, there are those who blame the vaccine. Science recognizes that, after suffering the coronavirus, sometimes heart, lung or fatigue problems persist. Knowing this can save lives. But as far as we know, the vaccine has nothing to do with these ailments. Vaccine suspicion may be legitimate, but belief in conspiracy hoaxes contributes to confusion, folly, and division. And it is not exactly what we need in this minute of the game.
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