Indirectly. YWN needs to avoid antagonizing most of the “frum” establishment, and they favor going along with the politically correct position that Covid19 is an existential threat to society, and the vaccines are critical for survival. Almost all of their advertisers would be forced to withdraw if YWN did otherwise. If you clash with the “party line”, you get cancelled.
The issue with credibility on Covid19 (especially among frum Jews since we are radically younger than the rest of society, plus our “older than boomers” age group are diminished due to holocaust) is that our personal experience doesn’t reflect the horrendous plagues in the past. This is true of many goyim as well. In past epidemics, most children lost multiple playmates. People of working age were dying so fast that the economy was undermined. In past epidemics, the death rate rose by many multiples (e.g. a smallpox epidemic is 16th century America killed over 50% of the population), whereas with Covid19 the death rate rose by about one-sixth, killing about one in a thousand, and numerous people had Covid19 or were quarantined without getting seriously ill.
Had those in charge not overstated the seriousness of Covid19, and relied on facts and science rather than scare mongering, there wouldn’t have been any issues (there also wouldn’t have been any school closings, any bans on davening, any closing “non-essential” business, and no recession). The real danger is if there ever is a serious public health threat, it won’t be taken seriously.