Colin Powell
Historical archive only. New interaction is disabled.
Original Question
Where is the logical fallacy here?
Colin Powell was fully vaxxed and yet he died from complications from Covid-19. Therefore, the vaccines do not work.
Answers
4LOL - I'd call it a red herring (straw man?).
Colin Powell was 84 years old. He had some kind of blood cancer.
This begs the question did he really die of Covid in the first place? Or was he close to death and anything from Covid to a bee sting could have pushed him over the edge?
I also like the cherry picking answer someone else suggested. I'm not vaccinated myself, but I understand that many people have been vaccinated as many as four times and are still advised/required to wear masks, and they can apparently still get Covid.
In the meantime, I'm not optimistic about ever reaching the age of 84, even without blood cancer. Working in a building filled with about 500 people seven days a week with only a handful of reported Covid cases (zero fatalities), I'm not optimistic about getting Covid, either.
Guess I'll have to find another way to die. ;)
hasty generalization Fallacy because only a small sample size is used. A cherry picking Fallacy because they ignore all the other people who have not died and who have died unvaccinated. And also this is anacdotal evidence which is weak.
Nobody ever claim the vaccine was 100% effective plus it denies other medical conditions that he had at the time. Hasty generalization.
non sequitur. The conclusion does not follow. However, this is assuming a reasonable definition of "work," as well as consistent with what is being claimed by the makers of the vaccines and the researchers that study the vaccines. It might the case that the argument and reasoning is solid; it's just that the arguer has their facts wrong. If they are under the impression that the vaccine will prevent 100% of all people who get the vaccine from dying, then even one death would prove that the vaccines does not "work." The problem appears to be a compete lack of understanding what vaccines do.
Master Logical Fallacies Online
Take the Virversity course and sharpen your reasoning skills with structured lessons.
View Online Course