I'm sorry about your loss. Must have been an emotionally draining experience to put it mildly. :/

I think many of the people who become anti-vaxxers and covid deniers are people who struggle with a feeling of general powerlessness in their lives. Believing in a fantasy where they see the truth and everybody else is blind or stupid can give them a feeling of importance/control.

I don't think it's the case for absolutely everyone who belong in that conspiracy group, but those I know personally who fall for this type of shit are people who are not doing great in life already and who are very emotionally vulnerable. I am equally frustrated and sad for them because I see how they cling to their delusions while their personal lives crash around them. Financially, socially, physically. It sucks to witness. Sucks even more to talk to them about anything, really. They will take any conversation and find a way to direct the topic of conversation into their weird conspiracies. I have somewhat learned how to navigate a conversation with them, but man, it is hard sometimes. I can't help but wonder how terrible it must be to be stuck in a mental prison of your own making. It was supposed to protect them from a reality where something as scary as a mysterious virus could suddenly collapse the world they knew and leave them completely at the mercy of scientists and politicians who are calling the shots for something you barely understand. And instead of the delusion helping you becoming less afraid, it just ends up isolating you from everybody, because nobody gets it like you do, right? They are all just trying to silence you because you are the truth sayer. It must be so fucked to have your own mind betray you and hold you hostage like that. I really hope that especially one person I know, will never start using AI chat bots, but honestly, I fear it is not a matter of if, but when they will get into that shit.