Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Like The Virus Itself, Covid Misinformation Is Still Spreading
KLKN-TV: Bryan Health Says Ivermectin, Other COVID Misinformation Still A Problem
There are several questionable methods out there to treat your COVID-19, the latest coming from a North Carolina Lawmaker, saying milk and Benadryl will do the trick. But experts are warning against that and other misinformation circulating. “I haven’t seen the exact recipe of like how much Benadryl people are talking about taking and so luckily probably not overly harmful but no clear evidence of benefit,” Dr. Kevin Reichmuth, a Pulmonary Critical Care Specialist, with Bryan Health said. (Skonieski, 1/22)
AFP: How Vaccine Misinformation Left US Children Vulnerable To Omicron Variant Of Covid
From worries that the shots were developed too quickly, to false claims that the jabs can impact future fertility, physician Wassim Ballan of Phoenix Children's Hospital said combating misinformation has become part of his job. "Unfortunately, a lot of times when we're having this time with a family to discuss these things is when the child is already in hospital," he said of the problem. (1/22)
The Washington Post: How Robert Malone, Vaccine Scientist Spreading Misinformation, Was Embraced By Joe Rogan, Anti-Vaxxers
As Robert Malone stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before thousands of anti-vaccine and anti-mandate demonstrators Sunday, the medical doctor and infectious-disease researcher repeated the falsehoods that have garnered him legions of followers. “Regarding the genetic covid vaccines, the science is settled,” he said in a 15-minute speech that referenced the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy. “They are not working.” (Bella, 1/24)
WOODTV.com: Sherriff’s Office: Robbers Are Not Giving Out Knock-Out Masks
A post circulating on social media warning about people giving out face masks that will knock you out is false, Kalamazoo officials say. A post seen on social media claims people are going door to door giving out COVID-19 masks. The post claims chemicals on the masks will knock homeowners out so that the people can then rob them. (Buursma, 1/24)
In related news about misinformation —
CNN: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Invokes Nazi Germany In Offensive Anti-Vaccine Speech
At a rally against vaccine mandates in Washington, DC, on Sunday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likened vaccine policies in the US to the actions of a totalitarian state, even suggesting Anne Frank was in a better situation when she was hiding from the Nazis. "Even in Hitler Germany (sic), you could, you could cross the Alps into Switzerland. You could hide in an attic, like Anne Frank did," said Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, in a speech at the Lincoln Memorial. "I visited, in 1962, East Germany with my father and met people who had climbed the wall and escaped, so it was possible. Many died, true, but it was possible." (Fortinsky and Graef, 1/24)
USA Today: Neil Young Demands Spotify Remove His Music Due To Its Vaccine Misinfo
Rock legend Neil Young wants Spotify to remove his music in response to the spread of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on the platform. In an open letter to his manager Frank Gironda and Tom Corson, co-chairman and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. Records on Monday, Young demanded his classic collection of songs be pulled due to the disinformation, and specifically called out Spotify's popular podcast host Joe Rogan. "I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines – potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," Young said. "Please act on this immediately today and keep me informed of the time schedule. (Collins, 1/24)
Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Test Provider Says It Plans To Sue L.A. County Sheriff Villanueva Over China Claims
The company that provides Los Angeles County with coronavirus testing said it plans to sue Sheriff Alex Villanueva for defamation over claims the sheriff made alleging the company has links to the Chinese government. Fulgent Genetics, the Temple City company contracted to administer tests and track the vaccination status of county employees, alleged that Villanueva orchestrated a briefing with FBI agents a day after Thanksgiving “in a last-ditch effort” to avoid complying with the county’s employee vaccine mandate, according to papers the company’s lawyers filed in court Friday. After the briefing, Villanueva claimed in a letter to elected county officials that FBI agents had called the meeting to warn him about Fulgent. The Times obtained a copy of the letter the same day Villanueva sent it. (Tchekmedyian, 1/24)
CIDRAP: Black Adults Outpace White Peers In Accepting COVID Vaccine
A pair of new US studies late last week in JAMA Network Open shed new light on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, finding that reluctance to get vaccinated fell faster among Black than White Americans and revealing a link between depression and vulnerability to vaccine misinformation. ... When the study began, about 38% of Black and 28% of White participants were vaccine-hesitant, but by June, 26% of Black and 27% of White participants were reluctant. Similarly, the belief that the vaccines were necessary rose more among Black than White participants in March and April. (Van Beusekom, 1/24)
