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By Andrew Stanton
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Representative Lauren Boebert suggested that the COVID-19 vaccine could be to blame for President Joe Biden's health concerns.
Biden's performance in the presidential debate against former President Donald Trump on June 27 sparked renewed concerns about his age. Biden, 81, sounded hoarse and stumbled through some answers, sparking panic from Democrats, many of whom are calling for him to withdraw from the race as polls show Trump leading in several swing states.
Biden's campaign, however, has said he simply had a cold the night of the debate, downplaying concerns about his cognitive abilities. Cognitive health experts have also said that his debate performance is not necessarily indicative of cognitive decline, noting there could be a number of other explanations.
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Boebert, a Colorado Republican, weighed in on his health in a post to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
"I wonder what could have caused Joe Biden's rapid physical and cognitive decline?" she wrote alongside four photographs of Biden receiving the COVID-19 vaccination and booster shots.
There has not been substantial evidence to back up claims that the COVID-19 vaccine leads to cognitive decline, a fact that many of Boebert's critics noted in responding to her post. Public health experts maintain that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing the spread of the virus.
However, a New England Journal of Medicine study published in February found that people infected with the virus may show signs of cognitive decline but noted more research needs to be done.
Newsweek reached out to Biden's campaign and Boebert's office for comment via email.
Boebert faced a wave of backlash over her post.
"You're vile. Go tend to your grandchild," attorney Bradley P. Moss wrote.
Anoop Jain, a professor of environmental health at Boston University, responded: "This is the insanity that public health is up against. Boebert doesn't actually believe this. She's just trolling. And yet the damage has been done. She is helping eradicate faith in science and the importance of vaccines. Shameful behavior from an elected official."
"This tweet is like the Rosetta Stone of wingnuts," wrote John Marshall, founder and editor-in-chief of Talking Points Memo. "Or like if we sent out another deep space probe and want a single artifact for aliens to understand our civilization in its death spiral this would be it."
Former President Donald Trump also received the COVID-19 vaccine. His administration was in part responsible for its quick rollout, known as Operation Warp Speed. He has at times found himself at odds with conservative voters, many of whom have embraced anti-vaccine stances, over his support for the vaccination and rarely touts the accomplishment, which has received bipartisan praise.
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