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ISBN: 9789294985422
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Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency for use in the European Union (EU) are known to be safe and effective in preventing infectious diseases. Nonetheless, misinformation that incorrectly links these vaccines to harms to health or other undesirable consequences has, over recent years, continued to proliferate online and elsewhere. Misinformation about vaccines is not a new phenomenon, but it has become more prominent due to the rise of social media and, more recently, due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has clearly illustrated how easily misinformation can spread online and how rapidly new narratives can emerge and evolve. Vaccine misinformation can be dangerous: it decreases confidence in vaccines and can lead to vaccine hesitancy and reduced vaccination uptake. Public health authorities can play an important role in identifying and countering online vaccine misinformation to limit the harm it can do to a country's vaccination efforts. In order to do this effectively, however, they need to have a good understanding of the landscape of vaccine misinformation in their respective countries, and of the tools and strategies that are available to fight misinformation effectively.
