In a March 26 podcast interview, a well-known anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist promoted a host of debunked and contradictory myths about polio vaccines. The podcast guest alleged that wild poliovirus is harmless and that a deadly poliovirus that causes paralysis was created in a lab. She also claimed without evidence that polio is not caused by poliovirus but is linked to the use of the pesticide DDT. Finally, she speculated that improved sanitation—not vaccines—is responsible for the global reduction in polio and that the disease was not reduced but was recategorized to conditions like Guillain-Barré syndrome; metal poisoning; untreated syphilis; and hand, foot, and mouth disease. Clips from the interview spread rapidly online worldwide. Although many criticized the claims, including some prominent vaccine skeptics, anti-vaccine accounts expressed support and promoted her other disproven claims.
Recommendation
Myths that cast doubt on the importance of routine vaccines and the promotion of unproven vaccine “alternatives” may lead to distrust of life-saving vaccines. The false claim that polio has been renamed periodically resurfaces online. Prebunking messaging may emphasize that some conditions have symptoms that resemble polio symptoms but are distinct diseases with known causes. Debunking messaging may emphasize that polio has never been renamed; it has been nearly eliminated worldwide thanks to polio vaccines. The myth that environmental factors cause polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases has been used to argue against the use of vaccines for decades. Messaging may explain that polio is caused by poliovirus, not by exposure to pesticides or any other chemicals.
Fact-checking sources: Science Feedback
