Yesterday I commented on a cousin’s post sharing a claim about 9 reported child vaccine deaths. I looked up each death in VAERS and noted two were actually gunshot wounds, 3-5 were special cases, so only 2-4 were notably concerning. I suspect this didn’t help: she quickly deleted my comment.
David Broniatowski says I shouldn’t be surprised. He argues that both debunking and censorship are counterproductive. Remember,
Russian Twitter “troll” accounts weaponized demeaning provaccine messages as frequently as vaccine refual narratives when conducting a broad campaign to promote discord in American society.
What to do instead? The hard work of opening “collaborations with public health partners”, and especially with physicians, who are generally trusted. This is of course harder. And I’m not a physician so that’s out.
Open letter from David Broniatowski:
The vaccine rollout in the USA has slowed driven, in part, by the fact that the most eager and confident citizens have now been vaccinated. The hurdle now is no longer one of vaccine supply, but rather, demand. In two new editorials, and a podcast, all in the American Journal of Public Health, I make the case that:
- Debunking misinformation is insufficient to convince hesitant people to vaccinate. Rather, we must listen to their concerns and communicate the gist of vaccination in a manner that accords with their values.
- Blanket removal of online content by Facebook, Twitter, and Google/YouTube may be counterproductive, driving hesitant people to seek out information on alternative platforms. On the other hand, social media platforms are excellent tools for microtargeting and can help public health agents to reach people who are the most hesitant. We can use social media, in combination, with traditional methods, to build relationships with the most hesitant people and increase their likelihood of vaccinating.
Together, these strategies can help us cross the threshold of herd immunity to end the pandemic.
Podcast is here. [<- Link may not render, but it works. -ct]