In one recent study of data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, fewer than 50 percent of children were up to date on required immunizations this past May, a drop from the 66 percent who were up to date at the same time during the previous four years. ![]() Within the context of the coronavirus pandemic, stay-at-home orders have further led to parents’ reluctance to take children to the pediatrician for routine immunizations and contributing to even greater declines in coverage overall. The United States eliminated measles in 2000, but in 2019 more than 1,280 cases were reported in 31 states, concentrated in communities where immunization coverage had been persistently low or had declined in recent years. Older narratives that vaccines can be used to sterilize young women have resurfaced alongside messaging that claims that the motives of those who invest in new vaccine research include inserting microchips into people’s bodies to control their behavior.Įven before the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy had led to decreased immunization coverage in the United States-and in other parts of the world-across several vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, polio, and diphtheria. ![]() Statements by President Donald Trump that a vaccine will be available by the end of 2020, backed by nearly $11 billion in investments in select industry partners’ vaccine candidates, have stirred online rumors over the safety of any product developed as rapidly as “Operation Warp Speed” aspires to. In the United States, recent polls have shown that just 50 percent of respondents plan to get a Covid-19 vaccine, assuming one becomes available. As early as February, the WHO declared the dissemination of misinformation about Covid-19 to be an “ infodemic.” Messages purporting to confirm the laboratory origins of the virus, rumors that claim 5G technology was a risk factor, and beliefs that consuming large quantities of raw garlic was a certain cure were shared, retweeted, and debated on such platforms as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) reported the outbreak of the novel coronavirus-now known as Covid-19-in January 2020, misinformation about the virus, its causes, and its treatments began to circulate and propagate through social media channels. national interests requires addressing the circulation of misinformation about the pandemic-far more systematically and effectively than is the case today-to interrupt the erosion of confidence in vaccines. Amid persistent Covid-19 transmission in the United States, with more than 6 million Americans infected and 180,000 dead, the protection of U.S. It is increasingly clear that ill-intentioned political elements are also disseminating misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines to foment discord and exacerbate political divisions within U.S. economic competitiveness, research, and innovation capabilities and the health security of the nation. A prolonged Covid-19 outbreak, with recurring cycles of lockdown and reopening, threatens millions of American lives U.S. ![]() population’s confidence in vaccines, particularly once a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine becomes available, is an urgent national security matter. ![]() Combating misinformation about Covid-19 and strengthening the U.S.
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