A recent Instagram post and a Reddit thread have sparked online conversation about fentanyl. On July 3, the CDC shared an image on Instagram showing the difference between a positive and negative result on a fentanyl test strip. The post received 3,269 likes as of July 11. In the...
Last week, a Tennessee woman who had been fired from Blue Cross Blue Shield for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine won a $700,000 settlement. Within a day, news of the settlement spread across multiple news outlets and social media platforms. Some social media users called the woman a...
On July 3, a Colorado dairy farm worker became the fourth person to contract H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. this year. The person only reported eye symptoms and has fully recovered after treatment. The CDC reported that the risk to humans remains low and that farm workers who...
Last week, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) announced that as of July 1, the state had 126 cases of whooping cough—more than double the number of cases last year—and recommended that residents stay up to date on whooping cough vaccines. WDHS shared its recommendations on social...
Vaccine opponents are circulating a new Italian study that claims to have found a decrease in life expectancy following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The study assessed death from any cause in people who were unvaccinated and those who had received one or more vaccine doses, finding that a higher number of...
On June 24, the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a 2021 Connecticut law that does not allow religious exemptions for vaccine mandates in schools, colleges, and daycare facilities. The “health freedom” group that filed the lawsuit argued that the law violated parents’ religious freedom. Within a day, news of...
In late June, the CDC recommended that people 6 months and older receive updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines in the fall. Social media posts in English and Spanish criticized the recommendation, arguing that the vaccines are unnecessary and unsafe. Recommendation: The CDC’s new COVID-19 vaccine recommendations provide an opportunity...
A widely-circulated blog post falsely claims that routine childhood vaccines have few benefits and many serious side effects. The article argues that vaccines are unnecessary because childhood diseases are no longer a threat and repeats myths about the safety of many vaccines. Recommendation: Trending conversations about recommended vaccines for children...
Last week, a Tennessee woman who had been fired from Blue Cross Blue Shield for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine won a $700,000 settlement. Within a day, news of the settlement spread across multiple news outlets and social media platforms. Some social media users called the woman a...
On July 3, a Colorado dairy farm worker became the fourth person to contract H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. this year. The person only reported eye symptoms and has fully recovered after treatment. The CDC reported that the risk to humans remains low and that farm workers who...