Slack / Private Message Drop — page 519

This from an email list: Nigeria Health Watch: A reminder that Conspiracy Theories get amplified and have real world consequences such as increasing vaccine hesitancy (are you listening Tom Frieden?) Of course the conspiracy theories regarding the China virus are being used like a club by Trump Bannon Pompeo Fox news {going hard after Fauci who "funded WIV"} - not a good look so far from Biden admin (come on Eric L]. Conspiracy theories and COVID-19 vaccine introduction in Nigeria Editor's Note: This week's piece comes from researchers Dr. Chizoba Wonodi, Chisom Obi-Jeff, Dr Carleigh Krubiner, Elana Felice Jaffe, Dr. Ruth Karron, and Dr. Ruth Faden. They analyze the rise of conspiracy theories during public health crises like the current coronavirus pandemic and explore who is most vulnerable to conspiracy theories about Covid-19 vaccines and why people display vaccine hesitancy. The research is part of COVER, a six-month Wellcome-funded project led by researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and implemented in Nigeria by Direct Consulting and Logistics. Less than 12 months after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the COVID-19 outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), there are currently 11 approved vaccines that have been administered in 75 countries, with Nigeria planning to introduce vaccines in March 2021. As of the 16th February, there have been just over 108,822,960 confirmed cases, 2 million deaths and 76.69 billion USD in economic loss globally, the COVID-19 vaccine is the world's best shot at combating COVID-19 and returning lives and livelihood to normal. Yet, conspiracy theories (CTs) and a raging infodemic on COVID-19 and the vaccines threatens the vaccines' promise. What are conspiracy theories and why should they matter? Conspiracy theories reject standard explanation for events and describe them as a secret plot perpetrated by influential people or organizations. These theories increase during social crises or health emergencies, due to uncertainties, contradictions, and psychological distress associated with the event. Image source: Orodata When the COVID-19 quickly spread globally, leaving mass disruption and death in its wake, people were left with many questions and few answers. Conspiracy theories emerged to fill the gaps. Fueled by the internet and social media, CTs have travelled and thrived. There are different theories about the origin of COVID-19 and speculation about the motives behind COVID-19 vaccines in Nigeria. Nearly everyone has heard one CT or another, and many people continue to be bombarded with them daily. Belief in these CTs is concerning because it threatens the adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviours, including potential vaccine hesitancy as an obstacle to achieving adequate coverage and immunity. Conspiracy theories, fake news, and rumours about vaccines are not new in Nigeria. Their disruptive effects have previously exerted heavy financial and programmatic burden on the country. Widespread rejection of polio vaccination in Northern Nigeria in 2004 following false rumours that the vaccine sterilizes Muslim girls is still fresh in people's memories. It took Nigeria more than a decade of concerted effort and significant funding to overcome the vaccine hesitancy and interrupt wild polio transmission. In 2017, a false rumour about the Nigerian army injecting children with 'vaccines' to cause monkeypox erupted in South East Nigeria. This rumour disrupted immunization activities in South East Nigeria, previously known for high immunization coverage and strong vaccine demand in both the public and private sectors. Given lessons from the polio vaccine experience, government officials, religious leaders and respected public figures quickly restored order and trust with targeted communication and public persuasion. The contrast between the long-running polio rejection and short-lived monkeypox disruption highlights the notion that vaccine hesitancy can vary by source and course. It also illustrates that no program or region is immune to direct or collateral damage from CTs and rumours. Image source: Orodata Who will be most vulnerable to conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines? COVID-19 vaccines will be administered to a new cohort (adults) for whom there is limited experience on how they will accept the vaccine. Unlike the previous experience with polio and monkeypox rumours, where a single malicious plot was linked to one vaccine or event, with COVID-19, the CTs are numerous and wide-ranging. A recent analysis by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control showed CTs circulating in Nigeria about COVID-19 vaccine safety, efficacy, allocation equity, and low confidence in the healthcare system. This begs the question, how different will COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy be compared to experiences with other vaccines; and what new approaches are needed to tackle the problem? While exposure to these COVID-19 CTs is almost universal, we do not know yet what proportion of the population believes them or a common profile/characteristics of a COVID-19 CT believer. Historically, vaccine hesitancy in Nigeria has been more