Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
State Attorneys Pressure Facebook, Twitter To Crush Covid Misinformation
The Hill: 12 State Attorneys General Urge Facebook, Twitter To Do More On Vaccine Misinformation
A group of 12 state attorneys general sent a letter to Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday urging them to more aggressively enforce platform policies against coronavirus vaccine misinformation. Led by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong (D), the group argues that content on the social media sites are increasing vaccine hesitancy, which will “slow economic recovery and, more importantly, ultimately cause even more unnecessary deaths.” (Mills Rodrigo, 3/24)
NPR: Misleading Facts Evade Social Media Moderation, Fuel Covid Misinformation
The odds of dying after getting a Covid-19 vaccine are virtually non-existent. According to recent data from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, you're three times more likely to get struck by lightning. But you might not know that from looking at your social media feed. A new NPR analysis finds that articles connecting vaccines and death have been among the most highly-engaged-with content online this year, going viral in a way that could hinder people's ability to judge the true risk in getting a shot. (Parks, 3/25)
The New York Times: Mississippi Will Remove ‘Misleading’ Language About Covid-19 Vaccine
Bobby Wayne, a retired reverend with prostate cancer and leukemia, had spent a week calling health agencies around his county in Mississippi, trying to find out where to get the Covid-19 vaccine. But when Mr. Wayne, 64, called the state’s hotline on Monday, he said an operator, whose job was to help residents schedule vaccine appointments, gave him unnerving and incorrect information. “This is the way she put it to me: They had no documentation that the vaccine was effective,” Mr. Wayne said. “And then she asked me did I still want to take it.” (Cramer, 3/24)
And mistrust in the vaccines still runs rampant —
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Owner Giving Away Free Gym Memberships For Those Who Don't Get Covid Vaccine
Despite President Joe Biden recently announcing that 100 million Americans are now vaccinated, there are still some who do not subscribe to the idea of a vaccine ensuring one is COVID-19 free. Ian Smith, owner of The Atilis Gym, is one of those with doubts. He recently decided to offer an incentive at his Bellmawr, New Jersey, fitness center for those who share his sentiments about the various COVID-19 vaccinations. After hearing about the offer national doughnut chain Krispy Kreme issued of free doughnuts to vaccinated customers, Smith is giving away a similar freebie at his gym for those who decline the vaccine. (Toone, 3/24)
Houston Chronicle: White Republicans Refuse To Get The COVID-19 Vaccine More Than Any Other Demographic Group In Texas
Sam Webb says he’s not against vaccines. His kids are up to date on their vaccines for school, and he got a flu shot a few years ago, the Weatherford truck driver said. But he won’t be getting a COVID-19 shot. Webb, a former Army medic, is among the thousands of Republicans in Texas and across the country who say they do not trust COVID-19 vaccines and will refuse to get one — even as public health experts and elected leaders say mass vaccinations are the key to a return to normalcy from the pandemic that has plagued the nation for a year. (Oxner, 3/24)
KHN: Inmates’ Distrust Of Prison Health Care Fuels Distrust Of Covid Vaccines
One November night in a Missouri prison, Charles Graham woke his cellmate of more than a dozen years, Frank Flanders, saying he couldn’t breathe. Flanders pressed the call button. No one answered, so he kicked the door until a guard came. Flanders, who recalled the incident during a phone interview, said he helped Graham, 61, get into a wheelchair so staff members could take him for a medical exam. Both inmates were then moved into a covid-19 quarantine unit. In the ensuing days, Flanders noticed the veins in Graham’s legs bulging, so he put towels in a crockpot of water and placed hot compresses on his legs. When Graham’s oxygen levels dropped dangerously low two days later, prison staff members took him to the hospital. (Berger, 3/25)
KHN: Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It’s Not An ‘Excuse’ For Current Medical Racism
For months, journalists, politicians and health officials — including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci — have invoked the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to explain why Black Americans are more hesitant than white Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine. “It’s ‘Oh, Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee,’ and it’s mentioned every single time,” said Karen Lincoln, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California and founder of Advocates for African American Elders. “We make these assumptions that it’s Tuskegee. We don’t ask people.” (Dembosky, 3/25)
