[ad_1]
Simon Stevens said that "denialists of vaccination" are gaining ground through their use of social media platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube.
"Worldwide, two to three million lives are saved each year through immunization," said Stevens at a health summit held on Friday. "But as part of the false information movement, immunization deniers are gaining ground.
"Last year, for example, the number of measles cases in England more than tripled compared to the previous year, despite the fact that vaccination is clearly working," he added.
Anti-vaccination groups frequently use social media platforms to spread conspiracy theories or misinformation about the use of vaccines, despite the fact that these theories have been conclusively contradicted by the medical community.
Stevens said discussions within the health body have been focused on ways to curb the spread of anti-vaccination ideas on Instagram and YouTube, and have referred to a parent from his daughter's primary school who had used WhatsApp to express his concern about the immune system of children "with vaccines.
This week, YouTube removed video ads promoting anti-vaccine ideas.
Stevens said that the vast majority of people who understand the benefits of vaccination must "win the public argument" in order to reverse the trends.
"We are not helped on this front by the fact that although nine out of ten parents support the vaccination, half of them say they have seen fake messages about vaccination on social networks," he said. he adds.
Threat to global health
Britain has better vaccination participation rates than many in Europe, but has not been spared by the wave of misinformation about vaccines that swept the continent.
The proportion of children vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella in England has declined for four consecutive years, according to NHS figures.
"In 2017, Britain was declared free from endemic measles, with only 259 laboratory-confirmed cases, but last year, 913 confirmed cases of this potentially fatal but entirely preventable disease were confirmed," he said. Stevens. "This has been exacerbated by myths widely circulated online."
The anti-government feeling of control "continues to be a common thread in the anti-vaccine movement, especially at this time of mistrust of the government," said Professor Heidi Larson, Director of Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine CNN last month.
"Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent the disease." It currently prevents 2 to 3 million deaths a year and 1.5 million more could be prevented if global vaccination coverage was improved, "said WHO.
A spokesman for Facebook, owner of WhatsApp and Instagram, said: "We do not want deceptive content on Facebook and we have made significant investments in recent years to prevent the spread of misinformation and to promote quality journalism and an information culture.
"Having said that, we always try to strike a balance between allowing freedom of expression and keeping people safe, which is why we do not prevent people from saying things that are inaccurate, especially they're not doing it intentionally. "
CNN has also contacted Google, the owner of YouTube, for comments.
[ad_2]
Source link