Fake News and vaccine: Correspondence

Rujittika Mungmunpuntipantip Viroj Wiwanitkit About the authors

Dear editor, we would like to correspond on the publication “Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil11 Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858.. Galhardi et al.11 Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858. discovered widespread dissemination of false vaccine information linked to Brazilian political division four months after the first COVID-19 case was reported in the country11 Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858.. According to Galhardi et al.11 Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858., this phenomenon proved critical in preventing sectors of the Brazilian populace from participating in social distancing and vaccination initiatives11 Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858.. We agree that during the COVID-19 mass vaccination obligation, a health education campaign is required. On the other hand, fear of the COVID-19 vaccine is a serious issue with numerous causes. Reluctance patterns can vary over time, as a recent Hong Kong article22 Xiao J, Cheung JK, Wu P, Ni MY, Cowling BJ, Liao Q. Temporal changes in factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among adults in Hong Kong: Serial cross-sectional surveys. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 2022; 23:100441. shows. Outbreaks, vaccine efficacy, and safety results have all been linked to fear33 Mungmunpuntipantip R, Wiwanitkit V. Response to: COVID-19 Vaccination, Willingness, Hesitancy, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2022; 28(4):e45.. As a result, the findings must be interpreted based on the changing local contexts. A further continuous long-term monitoring study should be conducted to determine acceptability.

References

  • 1
    Galhardi CP, Freire NP, Fagundes MCM, Minayo MCS, Cunha ICKO. Fake News and vaccine hesitancy in the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Cien Saude Colet 2022; 27(5):1849-1858.
  • 2
    Xiao J, Cheung JK, Wu P, Ni MY, Cowling BJ, Liao Q. Temporal changes in factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among adults in Hong Kong: Serial cross-sectional surveys. Lancet Reg Health West Pac 2022; 23:100441.
  • 3
    Mungmunpuntipantip R, Wiwanitkit V. Response to: COVID-19 Vaccination, Willingness, Hesitancy, and Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2022; 28(4):e45.

Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    06 Mar 2023
  • Date of issue
    Mar 2023
ABRASCO - Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brazil
E-mail: revscol@fiocruz.br