Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Following In Footsteps Of Other Social Media Giants, Facebook To Tackle Misinformation On Vaccinations
The New York Times: Facebook Announces Plan To Curb Vaccine Misinformation
Facebook announced Thursday its first policy to combat misinformation about vaccines, following in the footsteps of Pinterest and YouTube. The social network is adopting an approach similar to the one it uses to tackle fake news: The company will not remove incorrect content, but it will aim to reduce the reach of that content by making it harder to find. “Leading global health organizations, such as the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have publicly identified verifiable vaccine hoaxes,” Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president for global policy management, said in a statement Thursday. “If these vaccine hoaxes appear on Facebook, we will take action against them.” (Caron, 3/7)
The Washington Post: Facebook Says It Will Take Action Against Anti-Vaccine Content. Here’s How It Plans To Do It.
The tech giant rolled out its plan to combat anti-vaccine content after mounting public pressure culminated in a Capitol Hill hearing this week, when a Senate panel issued a dire warning about the public health danger that vaccine misinformation poses. There, 18-year-old Ethan Lindenberger testified that his mother, an anti-vaccine evangelist, relies on Facebook or Facebook-linked sites for all of her information on the subject. And she’s certainly not alone. In a blog post, Monika Bickert, Facebook’s head of global policy management, said the company is “working to tackle vaccine misinformation on Facebook by reducing its distribution and providing people with authoritative information on the topic.” (Thebault, 3/7)
The Wall Street Journal: Facebook Cracks Down On Vaccine Misinformation
In its crackdown, Facebook will ban ads that include misinformation about vaccines and will tweak its algorithms so pages that spread this type of content are no longer recommended. It will also downgrade those pages in the platform’s news feed and search results so they don’t spread as easily. The effort is expected to start Thursday, but it will take several weeks to take full effect. It will also extend to Instagram, where the company will stop displaying antivaccine messages on its Instagram Explore and hashtag pages. (McMillan and Abbott, 3/7)
Stat: The Nightmarish Tale Of What Happened To A Child Who Wasn’t Vaccinated
The boy did survive. But after a weeks-long, gut-wrenching medical marathon — which cost well over $800,000 — his parents refused to allow the hospital to give him a full course of vaccines to protect him against tetanus. Nor would they allow doctors to vaccinate their son against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, polio, and a range of other diseases that are dangerous for and can be lethal to young children, despite the fact the team spent a great deal of time trying to persuade them of their benefits. (Branswell, 3/7)
CNN: Anti-Vaxers' Adult Son Gets Measles; Now, He Has This Message For The World
Three years ago, Joshua Nerius, a 30-year-old software product manager in Chicago, developed a high fever and a rash. Doctors prescribed antibiotics, but Nerius just got sicker and sicker. Joshua went to the emergency room, where a doctor said it looked a lot like the measles. Had he been vaccinated as a child? Nerius texted the question to his mother. She sent back a thumbs-down emoji. (Cohen, 3/8)
And in other news —
The New York Times: Measles Outbreak: 1 Student Got 21 Others Sick
Public officials and health experts had given several warnings: Do not allow a student in school if they had not been vaccinated against measles. Still, during New York City’s largest measles outbreak in a decade, a school in Brooklyn ignored that advice, resulting in one student infecting at least 21 other people with the virus. (Pager, 3/7)
The Hill: More Than 800 Students Ordered To Stay Away From School Amid Measles Outbreak In Washington
More than 800 students in the Washington county that is battling one of the nation’s largest measles outbreaks have been ordered to stay away from classrooms for up to three weeks, The Seattle Times reported Wednesday. Students deemed to have been exposed to the measles have been told to stay away from schools, the paper reported. (Gstalter, 3/7)
The Oregonian: Unvaccinated Oregon Boy, 6, Nearly Dies Of Tetanus, Racks Up $1 Million In Bills
A 6-year-old boy spent about eight weeks in the hospital -- much of it in a dark room. His parents face nearly $1 million in medical bills. He suffered excruciating pain and lost control of his body as the first case of tetanus in Oregon in about 30 years. The disease is preventable by taking a vaccine, but the child wasn’t vaccinated. Nor is he still. (Harbarger, 3/7)
