4. The Politics of Health: Public Health & Misinformation

Health minister says wave ‘far from over’ as vaccination rate flatlines and clinics report rising numbers of Covid-19 patients

Unvaccinated people are the product of a society increasingly focused on personal welfare over the needs of the community.

The US, UK, and Canada have high rates of people unwilling to mask up or get a shot, perhaps because they don't believe COVID-19 will kill them. More 'collective' thinking helps in other countries.

Indigenous physicians say it's key to recognize the history of colonialism and trauma that's behind vaccine mistrust in some First Nations communities to boost COVID-19 vaccine rates.

A Reddit channel called r/HermanCainAward is filled with stories of people who mocked Covid-19 vaccines before eventually dying from the disease.

In mid-February 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak in China, Liu Lihong, a slight man with a wispy beard, made his way into Hankou Hospital

Some poorer countries are paying more and waiting longer for the company’s vaccine than the wealthy — if they have access at all.

Entirely eliminating infections is an unrealistic goal, but successful vaccines will avoid the worst outcomes.

"Another example of Big Pharma reaping billions from public investment into research by charging extortionate, rip-off prices for lifesaving Covid drugs."

This is not the most effective public health message. But it's what millions of us are feeling.

Researchers and regulators say Joseph Mercola, an osteopathic physician, creates and profits from misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines.

Why targets of deliberate deception often hesitate to admit they’ve been deceived

At least three promising antivirals that could prevent symptoms and limit transmission of Covid-19 are in clinical trials.

If hopelessness is learned, then it can be unlearned: how groundbreaking studies paved the way to help cultivate hope

Cases of COVID-19 are rising fast. Vaccine uptake has plateaued. The pandemic will be over one day—but the way there is different now.

Underneath a patina of satire, J.P. Sears is a New Age charlatan.

Our political leaders seem strangely reluctant to do what is needed to boost the vaccination rate

Introduction Rumors and conspiracy theories, can contribute to vaccine hesitancy. Monitoring online data related to COVID-19 vaccine candidates can track vaccine misinformation in real-time and assist in negating its impact. This study aimed to examine COVID-19 vaccine rumors and conspiracy theories circulating on online platforms, understand their context, and then review interventions to manage this misinformation and increase vaccine acceptance. Method In June 2020, a multi-disciplinary team was formed to review and collect online rumors and conspiracy theories between 31 December 2019–30 November 2020. Sources included Google, Google Fact Check, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, fact-checking agency websites, and television and newspaper websites. Quantitative data were extracted, entered in an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed descriptively using the statistical package R version 4.0.3. We conducted a content analysis of the qualitative information from news articles, online reports and blogs and compared with findings from quantitative data. Based on the fact-checking agency ratings, information was categorized as true, false, misleading, or exaggerated. Results We identified 637 COVID-19 vaccine-related items: 91% were rumors and 9% were conspiracy theories from 52 countries. Of the 578 rumors, 36% were related to vaccine development, availability, and access, 20% related to morbidity and mortality, 8% to safety, efficacy, and acceptance, and the rest were other categories. Of the 637 items, 5% (30/) were true, 83% (528/637) were false, 10% (66/637) were misleading, and 2% (13/637) were exaggerated. Conclusions Rumors and conspiracy theories may lead to mistrust contributing to vaccine hesitancy. Tracking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation in real-time and engaging with social media to disseminate correct information could help safeguard the public against misinformation.

The Conspirituality Report Oppression Fantasies of White Anti-Vax Moms Sibbio and Standfield co-opt First Nations genocide, Holocaust Susan Standfield and Stephanie Sibbio are co-founders of 100 …

The human brain, in all its complexity, is nearly impossible to model. One neuroscientist is trying anyway

BILL Gates’ divorce from his wife Melinda has sent anti-vaxxers, QAnon believers and a host of other conspiracy theorists into overdrive. Microsoft boss Gates and his wife have become a light…

Five ways to become more accepting of pain.

The Act-Accelerator helped to create momentum to fund vital COVID-19 testing, treatments, and vaccines. However, the effort is falling short of meeting its goals.