Believe me, I had similar discussions here as well. You're right, the fear porn was very effective for some. A local "news" station even had a covid theme music, an ominous sounding thing in a minor key like the "Jaws" theme music, just before they announced the latest "covid deaths and hospitalizations." And a pediatric specialist I know who works at a large hospital here said back in 2021 that "nearly all the deaths were unvaccinated people." We now know that was a lie, and he was either mimicking the party line or he was deluded like many others.