Latest News On Misinformation

Latest KFF Health News Stories

Misinformation Clouds America’s Most Popular Emergency Contraception

KFF Health News Original

At a moment when half of U.S. states stand poised to outlaw or sharply curtail abortion services, the nation’s most popular emergency contraception brand rests in the unlikely stewardship of two private equity firms.

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: A(nother) Very Sad Week

KFF Health News Original

Two mass shootings in two weeks — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 fourth graders and two teachers — have reignited the “guns-as-public-health-problem” debate. But political consensus seems as far away as ever. Meanwhile, the FDA is in the congressional hot seat over its handling of the infant formula shortage. Joanne Kenen of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News, and Rachana Pradhan of KHN join KHN’s Julie Rovner to discuss these issues and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews Dr. Richard Baron, head of the American Board of Internal Medicine, about how doctors should discipline colleagues who spread medical misinformation.

Medical Boards Pressured to Let It Slide When Doctors Spread Covid Misinformation

KFF Health News Original

State medical boards have an obligation to investigate complaints about doctors, including those who may spread false information about medical care. But in Florida, Tennessee, and other states, lawmakers are moving to protect physicians using unproven covid treatments or spreading misinformation.

Missouri’s War on Public Health Shows Extent of National Rift

KFF Health News Original

A public health official who said he was anti-abortion and anti-mandate for masks and covid vaccines did not pass the purity test of a Missouri senator who opposes covid public health restrictions. The senator killed the official’s nomination to be state health director, highlighting how hands may be tied in the nationwide fight against infectious diseases.

Vaccine Wars Ignite in California as Lawmakers Seek Stronger Laws

KFF Health News Original

Anti-vaccination activists say California’s Democratic lawmakers are helping strengthen their movement nationally by pushing for tougher vaccine requirements — without exemptions for religious or personal beliefs. But a new pro-vaccine lobbying force is vowing to fight back.

As Omicron Surges, Effort to Vaccinate Young Children Stalls

KFF Health News Original

Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations.

The Vaccine Rollout Was a Success. But Events Within and Beyond Biden’s Control Stymied Progress.

KFF Health News Original

There were variants, vaccine hesitancy and messaging mix-ups. And, despite campaign promises, Biden and his administration sometimes took actions or made statements without waiting for full scientific evidence to back them up.

New California Law Bans Harassment at Vaccination Sites, but Free Speech Concerns Persist

KFF Health News Original

Effective immediately, it will be a misdemeanor in California to harass people on their way to get a covid, or any other, vaccine. But First Amendment experts say the new law violates free speech protections and could face a constitutional battle.

‘Tainted’ Blood: Covid Skeptics Request Blood Transfusions From Unvaccinated Donors

KFF Health News Original

In another twist on covid vaccine hesitancy, blood centers say they are starting to hear from transfusion patients demanding blood from unvaccinated donors. Experts say the option is neither practical nor medically justifiable.

Claims That CDC’s PCR Test Can’t Tell Covid From Flu Are Wrong

KFF Health News Original

Posts circulating on Facebook and Instagram incorrectly claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is withdrawing its covid test because it can’t differentiate between that virus and flu viruses. These statements could be an attempt to blur the high cumulative numbers of covid cases.