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The scientific battle to get a vaccine may be ending, but another battle looms: convincing the public to get vaccinated.
For some time, experts have been concerned about the growing wave of misinformation online and it is becoming clearer that fake news is fueling doubts about vaccines.
A study has found that scary stories in the digital world can impede acceptance to such an extent that herd immunity will be impossible.
Anti-vaxxer Louise Creffield says it’s been a busy time with more members joining her Facebook group
The research team, led by Professor Heidi Larson, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, asked 4,000 people if they would be willing to take a coronavirus vaccine.
The figures showed that 54% of people would be happy to get vaccinated, so far so good.
But the researchers found that after people viewed misinformation online, that number dropped from 6.4% to 46.7%.
Professor Heidi Larson, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
It is estimated that to achieve herd immunity, between 50 and 80% of the population would need to receive a puncture; the variation depends on the effectiveness of the vaccine in the first place.
The findings are a massive headache for the government for obvious reasons: Even if a vaccine is effective, if people are reluctant or refuse to take it, it simply won’t work.
Louise Creffield, who is anti-vaccine and has campaigned against lockdown, says it has been a busy time with more members joining her Facebook group skeptical about any COVID-19 vaccine.
She told Sky News: “The government has not communicated well, they have changed their minds many times. They are causing harm. People are suffering from the confinement.”
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Vaccinations historically they are some of the safest and most successful drugs ever invented, but in the digital world doubts and conspiracy theories persist.
Today in Manchester, we randomly stopped members of the public to ask if they would be the first in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine and most hesitated, citing safety concerns.
However, some people believed that the vaccine was a Trojan horse that would be used by the government to “sacrifice the population.”
The fact that these ridiculous online theories are gaining ground is enormously concerning.
Professor Larson says more must be done to correct distortions and end false narratives, but she has no illusions that changing attitudes in the digital wild west will be easy.
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Professor Larson, director of the Vaccine Trust Project, told Sky News: “These anti-groups have gotten quite sophisticated. They turn things into questions and see doubts and cause people to question.
“From a human rights perspective, it is more difficult to close.”
As the launch of the vaccine approaches, the information war will only intensify.
What is clear is that the government needs to step up its safety message if it wants to convince large sections of the public about the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine and save lives.
