When other people who are searching for information about Zika come across a story like this, it may lead them to avoid vaccination and distrust health authorities, the researchers concluded.
They also insisted that drug companies were blaming Zika virus in order to earn profits from the sale of future Zika vaccines. Some conspiracy theorists claimed that the increase in microcephaly was caused by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. In the new study, the research team members unearthed several unfounded Zika-related claims. These suspicions, bolstered by social media posts, can have a lasting effect on people's health-related decisions, the researchers said. This has resulted in doubts about whether microcephaly is truly caused by the virus and whether future vaccinations will be safe.
Much uncertainty still surrounds the origin and effects of the Zika virus. Spread by mosquitos and through sexual intercourse, Zika virus has been linked to babies being born with small heads and brains, a condition called microcephaly. The Zika virus is found in Asia, Africa, and South America, with Brazil and neighboring countries seeing a significant rise in cases in recent months. In their journal article, the researchers pointed out that although the development of a Zika vaccine is in its early stages, "there is already cause for concern regarding the success of the eventual vaccination campaign." And the growth of social media, they wrote, "has created a fertile environment for conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific claims." The researchers also encouraged public health authorities to use this same real-time social media monitoring method to keep track of-and respond quickly to-unsubstantiated claims that could hinder upcoming inoculations. And that's a different calculus, where it's now within the government's interests to make sure that these diseases are not spreading," Deshmukh said.The researchers behind the study-from Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, and the University of Georgia-say the misinformation they detected by analyzing thousands of Twitter posts could cause many vulnerable people to refuse future Zika vaccinations. "It's not only about protecting us, but it's about protecting our community. It tries to balance individual freedom with public health needs, according to Anjali Deshmukh, a pediatrician and professor of administrative law at Georgia State University. The current legal structure around vaccines is the result of a wave of lawsuits in the 1970s and 80s. "So if lawyers can see that they can get rich, and we're trying to prove that you can - we haven't yet, but we will - it'll bring lawyers in simply for the money."įears about vaccines are not new. "I hate to say this but greed is good in this instance," said Mendenhall on a webinar promoting the event. They mean to probe for weak points in the law, build a network of experts and plaintiffs, and, they hope, inspire new laws.Ĭonference organizers like attorney Warner Mendenhall want to ensure a steady supply of lawyers who see opportunity, whether ideologically aligned with the anti-vaccine movement or not. The goal of this conference is to bring lawyers behind these suits together, study all that legal spaghetti on the wall and analyze what has and hasn't worked. Untangling Disinformation In Florida, 'health freedom' activists exert influence over a major hospital But when some of the research seemed to run into dead ends, Kirsch reportedly began to clash with the scientists he was funding. Reporting by MIT's Technology Review found the project had brought together highly respected biologists and drug researchers who believed in the work. The goal was to run trials on existing treatments that might help combat the virus. We started the COVID 19 Early Treatment Fund and we started funding early treatments," said Kirsch. "When the pandemic hit, I put in a million dollars of my own money and raised another $5 million dollars. From funding research to organizing lawyers Kirsch's path to the conference started with an effort to find treatments for COVID. He said he actually got two Moderna shots when COVID vaccines became available. The legal conference drew a mix of people who've advocated against vaccines for years before the pandemic, and those, like Kirsch, who are more recent converts. Anti-vaccine merchandise available at the conference.
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