With the current level of vaccine misinformation, we could not have eradicated smallpox

“We would probably still have smallpox, and we would probably still have polio in this country, if we had the kind of false information that is so widespread now,” added.

Friday the president Joe biden had accused the major social network operators of “kill people” by circulating false information about vaccines, while the United States tries to reactivate a vaccination campaign that has been slowed down.

Facebook declined the questions, saying it had “saved lives” with measures that allow its users to have better access to the vaccine.

The smallpox, which killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century, more than armed conflict, was officially declared eradicated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1980 thanks to the global vaccination effort launched after World War II global.

The polio, officially eradicated since August 2020 from Africa thanks to the vaccine, it is resistant in Asia, especially in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where this disease, which causes paralysis in young children, remains endemic.

The failure of vaccination campaigns in these countries can be explained in particular by the mistrust of rural populations and the belief in conspiracy theories against Muslims.