Anti-vaxers are winning the war on social media. What's the CDC going to do about it? by elizcohencnn
Concerned that anti-vaccination activists are winning the war on social media, advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say public health authorities need to figure out how to fight back.
"Have we done enough? I think the answer to that is no," said Patricia Stinchfield, a pediatric nurse practitioner and a liaison representative to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. While anti-vaxers were once considered fringe, there are now dozens of anti-vaccine groups on Facebook trying to convince parents of various untruths, such as that vaccines cause autism.
How vaccines stop diseases like measles 01:26It's unclear whether the agency itself thinks public health needs to up its social media game. A representative declined an interview, instead issuing this statement: "Parents have many questions about vaccines and are seeking answers. There is a lot of information about vaccines available, unfortunately, some of the information about vaccines is inaccurate.
The babies of the women who had access to that social media site were more likely to be fully vaccinated at 6 months old than the babies of the women who didn't have access to that site. It was just one study, but the advisers said it indicates that there is a way to win the social media war. "A silver bullet doesn't exist out there," said Zahn, medical director of the Division of Epidemiology and Assessment for the Orange County Health Care Agency in California.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
CDC finds 78 new measles cases as outbreak sprints toward record and experts blame anti-vaxxersThe number of people sickened by the highly contagious and occasionally deadly disease climbed by 78 during the first week of April.
Read more »
Ex-News Corp VP quit over Fox News’ 'relationship with facts' & 'anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim rhetoric'“I wasn’t the only one who was troubled… by the dehumanization that was taking place in some of the coverage and the opinion shows,' Joseph Azam said.
Read more »
Facebook, Google accused of anti-conservative bias at U.S. Senate hearingRepublican senators on Wednesday said Alphabet Inc's Google, Facebook Inc a...
Read more »
Man donning MAGA hat charged with attempted murder for allegedly slicing man with sword in San FranciscoThe assailant had been yelling anti-gay slurs earlier in the evening, according to a witness.
Read more »
Pakistan PM Khan says anti-militant push vital for stabilityPakistan's push to curb armed militant groups in the wake of a standoff wit...
Read more »
Opinion | William Barr is doing exactly what Trump hired him to doOpinion: William Barr is doing exactly what Trump hired him to do
Read more »
Taylor Swift Just Donated $113,000 To An Organisation That Fights Anti-LGBT Legislature'She sees our struggle in Tennessee and continues to add her voice with so many good people ... who are speaking out for love in the face of fear.'
Read more »