President Biden’s announcement of targeted door-to-door outreach efforts to encourage COVID-19 vaccine uptake has reignited conspiracy theories about forced vaccination campaigns and vaccine trackers. Many social media users, including several politicians, suggested that this outreach is actually meant to force people into taking the vaccine. One politician even went as far as comparing outreach workers to a paramilitary organization that played a part in the rise of the Nazis. The White House has clarified that these efforts are intended to provide people with information and answer questions about vaccination. The federal government is not and will not be mandating COVID-19 vaccines. Other social media users are falsely speculating that the door-to-door outreach means that people are being tracked by the federal government based on their immunization status. Targeted outreach efforts will be determined by areas with low vaccination rates, not based on individual immunization status.
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Addressing specific parts of this misinformation could distract from priority talking points. But updated educational and informational materials to emphasize that the federal government is not tracking people based on their immunization status, nor mandating COVID-19 vaccines, is recommended. Fact Checking Source(s): Washington Post, Independent
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