Misinformation Alerts

A popular website known for publishing misinformation is claiming that a CDC study found that masks do not make a statistically significant difference in COVID-19 transmission rates. The CDC study referenced focused on mask mandates, not mask effectiveness, and found that mask mandates were associated with statistically significant decreases in cases and deaths within 20 days of implementation.

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An article shared widely claims that COVID-19-related lockdowns are responsible for more deaths in Canada than the virus itself. The article references a report from Statistics Canada, which reviews indirect consequences of the pandemic, such as overdose deaths. Serious issues such as delayed medical procedures, increased substance use, increases in number and severity of mental health conditions, delaying of critical social and educational milestones in children, and more, are occurring. However, these issues represent part of the devastating toll of a pandemic, in addition to the morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 directly. The interconnected societal impact caused by pandemics is why global health and public health emergency experts have consistently argued for improved pandemic preparedness and response. When a pandemic hits, mask wearing, testing, contact tracing, quarantines and lockdowns, and when possible mass immunization, are the most effective means of protecting the most people. Public health pandemic protocols are associated with negative outcomes, but they are not themselves the cause, the pandemic is. Public health measures are employed out of necessity, until the immediate threat of large-scale death has passed, not arbitrarily.

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According to various news sources, Russian Intelligence has been involved in a coordinated disinformation campaign to generate fear and resistance toward COVID-19 vaccines developed and funded by Western nations. Websites that have been linked to Russian intelligence services focus on common fears around COVID-19 vaccines, including their safety, efficacy, and risk of side effects.

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Children's Health Defense, a US-based nonprofit known for its vaccine skepticism, led by well-known vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy, Jr., has released a documentary film titled "Medical Racism: The New Apartheid." The documentary focuses on the legacy of unethical treatment of Black communities and individuals in the United States by the medical and public health fields, promoting the idea that the government has a long history of experimenting on the Black community and therefore generally should not be trusted. The film suggests vaccines are a form of "medical abuse" of people of color. The film is being widely shared by anti-vaccine, anti-science, anti-government, and conspiracy groups. Accompanying the film are readymade marketing materials, such as shareable images, that claim pharmaceutical companies are targeting communities of color. Leaders of the anti-vaccine movement openly discuss their intention to target Black communities for conversion to their views. Anti-vaccine leaders have in recent years made appearances at Black events for social justice, and spoken with Black community leaders and to Black community based organizations.

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Tweets are claiming that people of color are being offered an "inferior" Jonhson & Jonhson vaccine, pointing to its apparent lower overall efficacy when compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been reaching predominately white communities. Others have built upon this narrative by predicting that people of color will be predominately given the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and therefore disproportionately suffer from COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality. While the vaccine has a lower efficacy rate than Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, it is 100% effective in preventing hospitalization or death. The three separate studies that determined the efficacy of the three vaccines, while definitively showing the vaccines are safe and effective, are also not entirely comparable; Pfizer and Moderna tested for any symptomatic Covid infection, while Johnson & Johnson tested for protection against moderate to severe illness after one dose. The studies also occurred in different regions and at different time points, with the Pfizer and Moderna studies occurring before some of the new worrying variants were widely circulating. The Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine is easier to store, as it does not require extreme refrigeration, and easier to administer, as it requires only a single dose. These characteristics make it easier to distribute to harder to reach communities, many of whom have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

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