View this email in your browser ([link removed])
AVAC's weekly COVID News Brief provides a curated perspective on what COVID news is worth your time.
“Equipped with a few tools, we can each become part of a larger misinformation-fighting system—as I like to call it, a science defense system…. When misinformation circumvents blocking, fact-checking and response by online interlocutors—as it too often does—the last line of defense is real-world relationships: family, friends and office buddies."
— Kathleen Hall Jamieson in Scientific American ([link removed])


** Latest Global Stats
------------------------------------------------------------
March 26, 2021
Global Documented Cases
125,629,394 Global Reported Deaths
2,757,473 People Fully Vaccinated
113,869,126
Source: Coronavirus Research Center – Johns Hopkins University & Medicine ([link removed])


** Table of Contents
------------------------------------------------------------
* If You Are in a Hurry (#hurry)
* The Dirty Dozen (#dirty)
* Politics and Vaccine Hesitancy (#politics)
* Politicians Countering Hesitancy (#countering)
* African Americans are Not More Hesitant (#african)
* Skepticism Kills (#kills)
* Vaccine Rollout Helps End Vaccine Hesitancy (#rollout)


* AstraZeneca and Vaccine Hesitancy (#astra)
* Rewards for Vaccines? (#rewards)
* Science Alone Won’t Save Us (#science)
* Personal Stories to Counter Hesitancy (#personal)
* How to Debunk Misinformation (#how)
* Not Throwing Away My Shot (#not)

Access and equity to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines remain the major challenge for moving to the end of this pandemic. To date only 1.46 percent of the world population has been fully vaccinated and people in many communities and countries have no idea when they will be able to be vaccinated.

But access and equity are not the only things keeping people from getting vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy, often fueled by misinformation, but also frequently by legitimate questions and concerns is holding some people back from being vaccinated. Anti-vaxxers who have in the past fueled outbreaks of measles and other vaccine preventable diseases are not the main drivers of people opting out of COVID vaccines. Why people are choosing not to be vaccinated is a complex issue with many contributing factors. This week we look at some of the issues around vaccine hesitancy though the lens of recent media coverage.



** If You Are in a Hurry
------------------------------------------------------------
We all have a role to play in countering misinformation and ensuring our communities have accurate information about COVID-19. If you read only one thing this week make it the long, but useful “How to Debunk Misinformation about COVID, Vaccines and Masks” by Kathleen Hall Jamieson in Scientific American ([link removed]) .



** The Dirty Dozen
------------------------------------------------------------

Misinformation and disinformation are important drivers of vaccine hesitancy. Anyone who spends time on social media has no doubt seen memes and other forms of misinformation about COVID vaccines.

The Star (Malaysia) writes “A report ([link removed]) by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH…has identified a dozen individuals who ‘appeared to be extremely influential creators of digital anti-vaccine content’. The report’s analysis of a sample of anti-vaccine content that was shared or posted on Facebook and Twitter a total of 812,000 times between Feb 1 and March 16, 2021 showed that 65 percent of anti-vaccine content is attributable to the 12 individuals that it referred to as the Disinformation Dozen…. The Disinformation Dozen report named the likes of entrepreneur Joseph Mercola, author Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and chiropractor Ben Tapper, among others, with examples of the COVID-19 misinformation that they shared on various social media platforms.”

The New York Times ([link removed]) reports, “Lawmakers on Capitol Hill pressed the chief executives of Facebook, Google and Twitter on Thursday over their companies’ roles in the spread of potentially harmful disinformation across the internet. The lines of inquiry were broad, and included how Big Tech could be impeding the fight against the coronavirus by allowing vaccine misinformation to proliferate.

NPR ([link removed]) (US) reports “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. The findings also illustrate a broader trend in online misinformation: With social media platforms making more of an effort to take down patently false health claims, bad actors are turning to cherry-picked truths to drive misleading narratives.”



** Politics and Vaccine Hesitancy
------------------------------------------------------------

The Lily ([link removed]) (US) reports “Politically conservative men have been skeptical of the coronavirus from the beginning. Now that the vaccine is becoming more widely available, a striking number are deciding not to get the shot: According to a recent NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist ([link removed]) poll, 49 percent of Republican men do not plan to get vaccinated, a higher percentage than any other demographic group in the United States.” The story profiles several women who are attempting to get conservative men to be vaccinated: “Some are threatening to withhold family visits; others are opting for bribes. They’re not sure if any of it will work.”

Daily Beast ([link removed]) reports “In the final months of Donald Trump’s term in office, several of the then-president’s top advisers were monitoring a growing concern: that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, particularly among Republicans and Trump supporters, was going to pose a major problem as the United States embarked on its mission to vaccinate millions…. In a small number of public appearances and TV interviews lately, the former president has encouraged—at times as mere asides—his true believers to get vaccinated, but has yet to embark on anything close to a vigorous campaign to leverage his sizable megaphone on the subject.”



** Politicians Countering Hesitancy
------------------------------------------------------------

The Herald ([link removed]) (Zimbabwe) reports, “President Mnangagwa has received his COVID-19 vaccination in the resort town of Victoria Falls where he launched the Second Phase of the national vaccination programme. Leaders from 23 parties in the country also received the jab, as the nation vigorously pursues its mission to have 60 percent of the population vaccinated against a pandemic that knows no political affiliation…. ‘Let me reiterate the global call by the World Health Organization that ‘No-one is safe, until everyone is safe.’ I therefore challenge all of us in our respective communities to accept the vaccination programme and to shun vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and the negative conspiracy theories. Getting vaccinated is a personal and a family responsibility as well as national obligation,’ the President said.”



** African Americans are Not More Hesitant
------------------------------------------------------------

CNN ([link removed]) reports, “A new CBS News/YouGov poll ([link removed]) finds that 22 percent of Americans say they have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. An additional 33 percent of Americans say they will get one when it is made available to them, while 22 percent say they may get it. Just 22 percent say they will not get one. This poll is in line with other data on the subject. America's vaccination effort is among the best in the world ([link removed]) . One of the few problems so far has been a racial inequity in who is receiving the vaccine. White Americans have received a disproportionate percentage of vaccinations compared with Black and Hispanic Americans. A lot of politicians have claimed
([link removed]) this is because of vaccine hesitancy from people of color. A look at the polling data suggests, however, that this may not be the case. The lower vaccination rates may, at least in part, be because of problems with access to the vaccine…. Among Whites, 26 percent say they have gotten the vaccine, compared with 17 percent of Black adults and 11 percent of Hispanic adults. Now look at those who say they want the vaccine in the same poll: 41 percent of Hispanics, 34 percent of Blacks and 31 percent of Whites.”

NPR ([link removed]) reports that the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study, often sued to explain African Americans reluctance to participate in research or to take a COVID vaccine is not the major reason for vaccine hesitancy among Black Americans. “’It's 'Oh, Tuskegee, Tuskegee, Tuskegee,' and it's mentioned every single time,’ says Karen Lincoln ([link removed]) , a professor of social work at USC and founder of Advocates for African American Elders ([link removed]) . ‘We make these assumptions that it's Tuskegee. We don't ask people.’ When she asks Black seniors in Los Angeles about the vaccine, Tuskegee rarely comes up. People in the community talk about contemporary racism and barriers to health care, she says, while it seems to be mainly academics and officials who are preoccupied with the history of Tuskegee.”

The Washington Post ([link removed]) (US) reports, “The Biden administration is committing nearly $10 billion to address a problem that has bedeviled health officials overseeing the coronavirus ([link removed]) immunization effort: inequities in vaccine coverage based on race, income and geography…. While seeking to broaden access in communities of color and among rural and low-income populations, the funding outlined Thursday will also help promote uptake of vaccines. States and other jurisdictions will gain access to $3 billion for efforts aimed at boosting vaccine confidence in communities hit hardest by the pandemic.”



** Skepticism Kills
------------------------------------------------------------

Bloomberg ([link removed]) (US) reports, “Countries with significant numbers of people refusing or delaying a COVID-19 vaccine could face death rates from the disease that are as much as nine times higher than in other populations, according to a new study…[from] researchers at Imperial College London ([link removed]) …. ‘Getting vaccinated is an individual choice; however, this choice has social consequences,’ said Daniela Olivera Mesa, one of the study authors, in a statement ([link removed]) . ‘Our work demonstrated that vaccine hesitancy can have a substantial health impact.’”



** Vaccine Rollout Helps End Vaccine Hesitancy
------------------------------------------------------------

The Pharmacist (applewebdata://616B4E5A-EAB8-4006-ACC4-8673ADB4F275/More%20than%20four%20in%20five%20people%20who%20said%20they%20were%20unsure%20or%20would%20refuse%20the%20Covid%20vaccine%20in%20December%202020%20have%20since%20changed%20their%20mind,%20according%20to%20a%20study.%20%20The%20study,%20conducted%20by%20University%20College%20London%20(UCL),%20found%2086%25%20of%20adults%20who%20were%20hesitant%20to%20have%20the%20vaccine%20in%20December%20had%20been%20vaccinated%20or%20were%20willing%20to%20be%20in%20February%202021.) (UK) reports that in the UK, “More than four in five people who said they were unsure or would refuse the COVID vaccine in December 2020 have since changed their mind, according to a study. The study ([link removed]) , conducted by University College London (UCL), found 86 percent of adults who were hesitant to have the vaccine in December had been vaccinated or were willing
to be in February 2021.”



** AstraZeneca and Vaccine Hesitancy
------------------------------------------------------------

The Financial Times ([link removed]) reports on the stumbles with the AstraZeneca vaccine that are fueling hesitancy. “The rollout of the AstraZeneca jab has appeared designed to shake faith in what is, almost certainly, an excellent vaccine. That is a calamity, especially for the developing world where—cheap, scaleable and easy to store—it was expected to be a global workhorse…. AstraZeneca bears much of the responsibility for the situation. Mistakes in the way it has conducted trials and presented data have raised the suspicion of regulators in Europe and the US. Anthony Fauci, the US president’s chief medical adviser, called its fumbled presentation an ‘unforced error’ that undermined confidence.”

TechCabal ([link removed]) (Nigeria) reports that the issues and concerns with the AstraZeneca vaccine is fueling vaccine skepticism in Nigeria. “Several people on social media are sharing that the vaccine centers around them are seeing short queues as a number of people are choosing to not take the vaccine. Omolola, who works as a customer success officer at a bank was one of the people who spoke to TechCabal about their worries over the vaccine. ‘Basically, I have reservations because of the news we’re hearing. First, we heard that we are not getting the vaccine and now we have a vaccine. I have doubts that it is authentic. I also heard from someone that the vaccine was contracted to government officials and the source of the vaccine is questionable—I just feel like if it’s something good, I doubt the government will let us have it.’… It is clear that governments across Africa need to double down on informing citizens and breaking down
information about the vaccine into simple and digestible bits. They can also show data from countries that are doing successful vaccination drives. In the end, we must treat this as what it is; a fight against disinformation which we must tackle head on and we have a great reference point. After all, Nigeria beat poliomyelitis simply with vaccination and we have an opportunity to do that again with COVID-19.”



** Rewards for Vaccines?
------------------------------------------------------------

The Guardian ([link removed]) (UK) reports “Making COVID certificates compulsory to enter pubs could help tackle vaccine hesitancy among young people, government figures believe, amid fears of a 'stark' future fall in uptake among younger age groups. Government insiders are understood to believe that threatening to restrict freedoms to visit venues such as pubs ([link removed]) could act as a 'nudge' for younger people in particular…. A UK government source said: ‘If the argument on health grounds doesn’t really wash because young people think they’re going to be fine and their grandparents and parents have all taken it, the strongest nudge is: 'You’re not going to be able to be as free as you’d like.' Not being allowed into pubs may focus minds.’”

CBS News ([link removed]) (US) reports “In case you needed another reason to get your COVID-19 vaccination, Krispy Kreme is sweetening the deal—it's giving free doughnuts to anyone with proof of vaccination, all year long…. All you need to show is your vaccination card to redeem your doughnut…”



** Science Alone Won’t Save Us
------------------------------------------------------------

Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, writes in Nature ([link removed]) , “Science gave us vaccines, but SHAPE (social sciences, humanities and the arts for people and the economy) disciplines help us get to social realities, such as vaccine hesitancy. Humanity’s insight is more robust when STEM and SHAPE come together…. The good news: many governments are getting the message. Think-tanks and civil-society organizations from Bangladesh to Kenya are pulling together social-data insights…. COVID-19 has uncovered, exacerbated and solidified existing inequalities. We need better linkage of health and social data to understand what is driving these inequalities and the best ways to remedy them.”



** Personal Stories to Counter Hesitancy
------------------------------------------------------------

CNN ([link removed]) (US) tells how a Native American Osage elder used the story of his almost dying of measles to convince his vaccine hesitant daughter to be vaccinated. “His personal trauma made him a strong voice in favor of getting vaccinated against COVID-19, but as a Native American he understands why people in his Osage Nation ([link removed]) and other nearby tribes are hesitant.

‘Of all people.... Native people are the ones that shouldn't trust the government,’ he said, referring to centuries of land grabs, exposure to new diseases, and discrimination from the government. ‘But in this case, we need to put our trust in science and medicine.’"



** How to Debunk Misinformation
------------------------------------------------------------

Kathleen Hall Jamieson writes in Scientific American ([link removed]) (US), “I have spent much of my career studying ways to blunt the effects of disinformation and help the public make sense of the complexities of politics and science. When my colleagues and I probed the relation between the consumption of misinformation and the embrace, or dismissal, of protective behaviors that will ultimately stop the coronavirus’s spread, the results were clear: Those who believe false ideas and conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and vaccines are less likely to engage in mask wearing, social distancing, hand washing and vaccination.” Jamieson argues that friends and family are key to debunking misinformation. “Equipped with a few tools, we can each become part of a larger misinformation-fighting system—as I like to call it, a science defense system…. When misinformation circumvents blocking, fact-checking and
response by online interlocutors—as it too often does—the last line of defense is real-world relationships: family, friends and office buddies. Enlisting in a science defense system requires a commitment to make health-promoting practices the norm in one’s community, a willingness to bookmark and turn to public health and fact-checking sites for knowledge about COVID and vaccination, a few premises about the nature and limits of scientific claims, a set of realistic goals, and a strategy for depoliticizing the science if the situation requires it.”

Fast Company ([link removed]) (US) reports on global efforts to combat misinformation about COVID vaccines. One “strategy involves sharing a clear, ‘sticky’ fact that people will remember, then giving a warning with a weakened version of the rumor, flagging reasons why someone might share that rumor for financial or political gain, and then finishing the message with the correct information again. Recent studies suggest that the approach can help. A recent guide ([link removed]) for governments and organizations about vaccine misinformation that UNICEF developed with the Yale Institute for Global Health and the nonprofits First Draft and the Public Goods Projects explains the strategy, along with an overall approach to tackling the problem.”

The National News ([link removed]) (UAE) reports, “Indian celebrities including R. Balki and Mini Mathur have appeared in a video to debunk myths surrounding COVID-19 vaccines. In a bid to challenge vaccine hesitancy, filmmaker R. Balki, actresses Mini Mathur and Sanjana Sanghi and social media influencer Ranveer Allahbadia took part in a panel to ask India's leading cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Naresh Trehan a range of questions.” See the video here. ([link removed])



** Not Throwing Away My Shot
------------------------------------------------------------

Vax’n 8, a Group of 8 docs in California have rewritten Hamilton’s “Not Throwing Away My Shot" ([link removed]) to encourage people to vaccinated. It’s a nerdy and as wonderful as you can imagine.

Got this from a friend? Subscribe here. ([link removed])

============================================================
Our mailing address is:
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
** update subscription preferences ([link removed])