Image by National Cancer Institute via Unsplash
The efforts of health officials to promote the COVID-19 vaccine continue to be undermined by misinformation. Particularly on social media, people are claiming and believing that the vaccine is killing those who receive it. To date, 9,000 deaths in the U.S. have been reported to have occurred after inoculation; however, this does not mean that these deaths occurred because of the vaccine. But, the spread of vaccine misinformation persists, by way of social media platforms, and claims from certain voices within particular communities. Over the course of this pandemic, we have seen coronavirus claim over 600,000 lives in the U.S alone; a new and worse Delta variant is now claiming the lives of those who weren’t at risk of severe complications from the original form of COVID-19.
There is risk involved with everything we do in life. Every time we get in our cars, or even drink too much water, we take the risk of dying. That reality is why providing misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine in a manner that highlights certain negative statistics, rather than factually contextualizing them in a way that discusses risks and benefits, is irresponsible, and continues to be the largest barrier curbing vaccination efforts.
Dr. Blima Marcus, RN, DNP, is an oncology nurse practitioner who is an expert in vaccine education. She has been a leader in providing scientific evidence on vaccines to people in the Orthodox Jewish community, and continues to enable people to make informed decisions about vaccinating themselves and their families. On this podcast, Dr. Diana Mason, RN, host of this program, speaks with Dr. Marcus about COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and the idea of comparative risk.
This interview first aired on HealthCetera in the Catskills on WIOX Radio on July 28th, 2021.
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