* Jonah Meadows at the Patch…

Misinformation and rumors about recently developed coronavirus vaccines are running rampant, public health officials warned. The point was underscored Thursday when a reporter asked Gov. J.B. Pritzker at his daily COVID-19 news conference whether it was true people who receive the vaccine will be prohibited from air travel. (It is not.)

Illinois Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said she recognized some members of the public have concerns about the safety of the vaccine, especially early on in its mass distribution. Public health officials will provide all the information needed for people to make informed decisions for themselves, she said.

“We can’t assume that every single person will want the vaccine, for any number of reasons, but we have the expectation that we will have accurate information available for everyone to make the best decision possible,” Ezike said. […]

“I encourage people to learn for themselves from medical research experts and be able to discern the myths from truths,” she said. “There is a lot of misinformation, so please obtain credible medical research expert information as opposed to just social media myths that are going around.”

* Rumors are always a problem in times of peril…

Historian D’Ann Campbell argues that the purpose of the wartime posters, propaganda, and censorship of soldiers’ letters [during World War II] was not to foil spies but, “to clamp as tight a lid as possible on rumors that might lead to discouragement, frustration, strikes, or anything that would cut back military production.”

A World War II poster…

       

34 Comments - The Dude - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 5:57 am: Might want to start with Nurses as American Nursing Hssociation held a survey in October and only 34% of nurses planned on taking it. If trained professionals are hesitant how do you expect general public to be on this? - Huh? - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 6:31 am: “If trained professionals are hesitant how do you expect general public to be on this?” It is understandable when the vaccine has been developed and trialed in less than 10 months under the administration of an unreliable president. - Cube Dweller No More - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 8:18 am: *unreliable president* I knew it wouldn’t take long for someone to regurgitate that nonsense, seems I was right…Pfizer isn’t Trump, Inc. To the post, we have a 62% positive response on willingness to take the vaccine once it arrives, and this is at 2 critical access hospitals in Central Illinois chock full of naysayers.It also covers all staff from docs to food service. This is data gathered yesterday. - TheInvisibleMan - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 8:22 am: The ship has already sailed on the vaccine guidance. The number of people I’ve already seen passing around memes on the supposed danger of vaccines is sobering. Keeping in mind that before all of this even started places like plainfield were dealing with measles outbreaks due to a lack of sufficient vaccine coverage. The MMR vaccine has been around a long time. I will not be surprised if there are areas with less than 50% uptake on this new vaccine after 2 years. The anti-science thread running through a particular political party is going to continue to cause damage to our larger society. - PublicServant - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:14 am: === Misinformation and rumors === Rumors exist, but it seems one party and its most fervent supporters deal in them a lot more these days. I think belief in them stems from desire to believe what fits your point of view rather than doing the hard work of researching what’s true and what isn’t. In the end, Mother Nature will weed out those who are wrong. - Nagidam - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:22 am: ===*unreliable president*=== Clinton, Bush II, and Obama did a PR gig saying they will take the vaccine. Sign me up. - OneMan - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:23 am: A family member is classified 1A for the vaccine, and the slots at her hospital for week one of getting the vaccine were filled in less than 3 hours without the e-mail having even been sent yet that slots were available. Only the link to register had appeared on their intranet. For the healthcare professionals dealing with it daily, there does not seem to be hesitation. - Moe Berg - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:38 am: @TheInvisibleMan: very good point about the lack of uptake on the MMR vaccine in some places and its implications for the coronavirus vaccines. And, with regard to vaccines, there is an element on the left that is as anti-vax as the right, even if the later is more numerous. A Pew Research poll on 12/3 shows 69% of Dems and 50% of Republicans saying they definitely or probably would get the coronavirus vaccine. Those numbers are *down* from May, when it was 79% of Dems and 65% of Republicans saying they would definitely/probably take it. - Dysfunction Junction - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:39 am: =Rumors exist, but it seems one party…= I’ve thought about this a lot. Shouldn’t the fact that the leader of that “one party” is claiming full credit for the speed and efficacy of this vaccine’s development give some comfort to that leader’s supporters? Doesn’t seem like one should be able to claim victory for the “warp speed” delivery time and then say it’s not worth taking. - Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:41 am: I’m way down on the list to get the vaccine. If those ahead of me wish to decline, okay by me. - Drake Mallard - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:58 am: No issue gives me less faith in the intelligence of the American people then the arguments against vaccines. - Bruce( no not him) - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 9:59 am: As the poster shows, rumors have been around for eons. Just now the internets allow for the faster and farther spread of them. Truth always wins. - Rich Miller - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:00 am: ===Truth always wins=== No, it really doesn’t. - Froganon - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:03 am: People who refuse the vaccine will continue to get sick and die. Those who get the vaccine will live and avoid the long term affects of Covid. Anti-vaxing appears to be a grotesque form of culling of the herd. It’s like a death cult. - Sayitaintso - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:08 am: Drudge had screaming Headline yesterday about severe reactions to vaccine - read further and it was apparently 2 people who after their reactions were fine. Everything has a negative probability factor to deal with…..crossing the street, .asking for a date, fishing, flying, driving, and taking vaccines (to name a few. Idiots will take the 2 out of the total number of vaccines given(?), and conclude its dangerous, don’t take it. There is a massive lack of trust in this country, and much of it is justified.. Multiple causes, and I do not see any change in the trajectory. - Publius - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:14 am: I think this goes to show that a lot of people still think that this will just go away and we don’t need to do anything. - SAP - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:17 am: ==I’m way down on the list to get the vaccine. If those ahead of me wish to decline, okay by me.== I suspect that demand will exceed supply for the next little while. - Bruce( no not him) - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:20 am: ===Truth always wins=== No, it really doesn’t. I guess I try to tell myself this. I know its probably not true, but sometimes its easier to lie to yourself than believe the absurdity of the truth. - Rich Miller - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:20 am: ===People who refuse the vaccine will continue to get sick and die. Those who get the vaccine will live and avoid the long term affects of Covid=== OK, and that goofy attitude ignores the fact that children aren’t approved to take it and that some folks who are very ill won’t be able to take it. The reason for herd immunity is to protect the most vulnerable, not the most stupid. You gotta get people to comply. - striketoo - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 10:26 am: It will just mean more supplies for the intelligent people. Darwin will be up there smiling. - PublicServant - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 11:04 am: === You gotta get people to comply. === Agreed, but you can’t force them, and, as the saying goes, you can’t fix stup*d. - Joe Bidenopolous - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 11:41 am: ===I’m way down on the list to get the vaccine. If those ahead of me wish to decline, okay by me.=== Same. There’s something like 264 million ahead of me. Meanwhile, my wife, who’s 1A because of her work, already has a date for her vaccine next week pending FDA approval. Which is good. - ArchPundit - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 11:53 am: ====Agreed, but you can’t force them, and, as the saying goes, you can’t fix stup*d. We can require it for a number of things such as attending school, college, and many workplaces just as we do now. We need to tighten the exceptions and allow only medical exceptions for kids in school, but there is no reason that it cannot be required in many settings. - Last Bull Moose - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 11:54 am: Government can’t force people to vaccinate. Employers can make it a condition of employment. My first job in a grocery store required a chest x-ray. - @misterjayem - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 12:01 pm: “you can’t force them” Proof of vaccination (or a legitimate medical exemption) could likely be made a requirement under some conditions, e.g. public schools, higher ed, airline travel and some professional licensing. If people don’t want to participate in civilization, they can go live in the woods. – MrJM - PublicServant - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 12:11 pm: === If people don’t want to participate in civilization, they can go live in the woods. === Don’t you need a permit for that? ArchPundit and MJM are right, but it’ll make WW2 look like a dustup in the playground. - ArchPundit - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 12:22 pm: ===ArchPundit and MJM are right, but it’ll make WW2 look like a dustup in the playground. I understand your point, but I think this can be done most simply by making it administrative for those purposes and just have it as part of the schedule for the year or especially if boosters/annual vaccines are needed. We already require vaccines for many things, we just need to A) have a public health campaign on them and B) allow fewer exceptions. - thisjustinagain - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 12:33 pm: Actually, the States CAN force vaccination; see Jacobson v. Massachusetts (197 US 11, 1905), and still good law used to fight DeVore-like suits. - Unconventionalwisdom - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 12:50 pm: Unless some very negative aspects are revealed I am taking it as soon as I can get it. - Anotheretiree - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 1:00 pm: Same boat as Flyin’ Elvis’-Utah Chapter, hoping enough foolishly get out of the way to get the shots. The GOP has taught us employers can tell employees what to do. Hobby Lobby can tell its female employees they cant use their own health care compensation to buy birth control. All hail the corporation. - Frank talks - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 1:24 pm: Best rumor I heard -They’re going to force everyone to take the vaccine because it has a kind of tracker in it so the Government can keep tabs on everyone. - Cube Dweller No More - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 1:24 pm: * WW2 look like a dustup in the playground. * Exactly, I don’t quite understand the personality disorder that causes people to want to tell others what to do. Get a shot, mind your own business. I will likely be required to get it because I work in healthcare, but I’m back office so I’m way down the line. Our CEO has publicly stated that it will not be required, but I’m sure the word “yet” was intentionally omitted. - Mama - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 2:24 pm: I know the hospitals force their workers to get vaccinated. - TKMH - Friday, Dec 11, 20 @ 3:23 pm: The Supreme Court gave the constitutional greenlight to compulsory vaccinations in Jacobson v Massachusetts (1905). The government can mandate vaccinations and for COVID it should. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.