WHO Launches Campaign In Africa To Combat ‘Infodemic’ As Preparations Begin For COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
The UK has seen large anti-vaccine protests in its capital as it approved the Pfizer vaccine for use: a similar resistance in Africa could be more challenging to combat.

Information about COVID-19 has been viewed online more than 270 billion times globally since February, with a large proportion deliberately misleading, misinforming, or lying to readers. But a new ‘infodemic’ response alliance, launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for Africa, is hoped to improve scientific literacy among the general public, as countries around the world prepare to begin their vaccination campaigns.

The Africa Infodemic Response Alliance (AIRA) will aim to support journalists by encouraging disclosure by data holders, WHO has said, and to aid individual African countries by developing tailored responses based on behavioural trends.

The network consists of 13 international and regional organizations and fact-checking groups specialising in behavioural science and epidemiology, including WHO, United Nations (UN), and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“During health emergencies, people need proven scientific facts to make informed decisions about their health and well being,” WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said in a press briefing on Thursday. “News of coronavirus has many people on edge. From social media to street corners, people are hearing conspiracy theories.

“Rumors on the origin of the virus, its mode of transmission and its severity harms people’s physical and mental health.”

AIRA will rely on four pillars – identifying, simplifying, amplifying and quantifying – designed to flag knowledge gaps in the population, present information in a simple manner, promote correct information more actively, and evaluate how effective the interventions have been. Key actions to be taken in 2021 include:

  • Monitoring the media and social media discourse surrounding COVID-19 vaccines to identify information gaps.
  • Working with community leaders, religious leaders and social influencers to disseminate timely and accurate information.
  • Launching a social media brand dedicated to debunking health misinformation.
  • Briefing media and fact checkers on key technical updates related to vaccines.

The steps are similar to those outlined in the WHO technical advisory group guidance for improving vaccine uptake, published on Friday.

Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.

The launch comes at a key turning point in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as countries worldwide are experiencing second or third spikes, while other, high-income countries prepare vaccination campaigns en masse.

“This is all the more important,” Moeti said. “Compared to last month, cases are increasing in around half of the countries in the African region, and countries [elsewhere] are preparing for the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines.”

But there is growing concern for uptake of the vaccine, given the amount of misinformation, and the staggered rollouts globally caused by lack of availability and inequity.

“We have two concerns,” said Melissa Fleming, UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications. “One is that we won’t have enough people to actually take the vaccine so that we won’t be able to create herd immunity because people are listening to this misinformation and are becoming fearful, and our second concern is that there will not be enough availability of the vaccine.”

Africa Health Officials to Monitor UK Vaccine Campaign

From as early as next week, the UK will begin its rollout of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to immunise 20 million people, after it became the first country to approve a vaccine for public use.

“If I had it my way and I could take a flight to the UK, I would take that vaccine right now,” John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC, one of the 13 institutions forming the AIRA, told Health Policy Watch. “I want everyone to be very clear, and on the same page.

“There are no issues of safety, there are no issues of efficacy. We heard prior to the UK announcement that the vaccine is around 95% effective, and that is on a large number of people that took part in large clinical trials.”

John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC.

But the UK has seen large anti-vaccine protests in its capital, leading to 150 arrests made last weekend: a similar resistance in Africa could be more challenging to combat. High levels of scientific illiteracy could realistically undermine a successful, government-led vaccination campaign.

Nkengasong noted, however, that it was important to remember this is far from the African continent’s first mass-vaccination campaign, and that there is reason to be confident in the success of the COVID vaccine rollout, currently expected to take place in spring.

“This is not the first time that the continent will be dealing with vaccines against an infectious disease,” he told Health Policy Watch. “Personally, I’ve received over seven different vaccines over my lifetime from childhood to now.

“The history of infectious diseases shows that vaccines are the most potent public health tools that we have. The Africa CDC is working very hard to ensure that only the best vaccine is introduced on the continent.”

“Interestingly, it’s most pervasive in countries in the West – in the US and in countries in Europe,” Fleming said at the WHO briefing. “It seems that in Africa, people are more accustomed to and are very embracing, and understanding of the wonders of vaccines and vaccination.”

Melissa Fleming, UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications.
Facebook: Cracking Down On Conspiracies

In a separate statement made on the same day as the WHO and CDC announcement, Facebook said that it will begin actively removing false claims about COVID vaccines from its platform and from Instagram, if they have been debunked by health experts.

It cited a recent conspiracy theory circulating on the site that these new vaccines contain microchips, or that specific populations are being targeted for vaccine trials without their consent.

It noted that it will regularly update its guidance as public health authorities “learn more” and as “facts about COVID-19 vaccines … continue to evolve”.

Image Credits: National Institutes of Health (NIH) , Africa CDC.

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