In vaccination plea, surgeon general Vivek Murthy reveals he has lost 10 family members to Covid

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy revealed at the White House press conference Thursday that he has lost 10 family members to the coronavirus.

Murthy, who joined the briefing in a bid to urge Americans to get vaccinated despite lagging vaccination rates, was outspoken about his own experience during the pandemic. Her deceased family members were in the United States and India. He said it was “painful” to know that “almost all of the deaths we are seeing now” from Covid-19 in the United States could have been prevented with vaccines.

“I say this as someone who has lost 10 family members to Covid-19 and who wishes every day they had the opportunity to be vaccinated,” Murthy told reporters.

Murthy said misinformation contributed significantly to the reluctance to vaccinate. He said about two-thirds of people who haven’t been vaccinated believe, to some extent, common myths about injections. Some of this misinformation was amplified by social media, he said.

“Sometimes we have to recognize that the most trusted voices are not the ones with the most followers on social media or the ones with the most notoriety,” Murthy said.

It was not the first time Murthy, who made history under the Obama administration as the country’s youngest surgeon general and the first of Indian descent, spoke of the loss of his family members.

Earlier this year, he spoke of his loved ones who died in India, which has suffered a mass epidemic, which has led many to criticize the government’s decision to allow crowds to gather for religious holidays and celebrations. political rallies. An estimated 5.6% of people in the country are fully vaccinated and the death toll stands at over 410,000. Murthy had also said he had family members who died in the United States, including his great-uncle, whom he was close to.

Murthy’s experience is similar to that of many other members of the Indian diaspora, who experts say are experiencing collective grief in the face of unprecedented large-scale tragedy during this pandemic.

“We can see the tragedy happening in South Asia. Social media interconnects us, and WhatsApp we hear from family and friends, and it’s getting louder, ”K.“ Vish ”Viswanath, professor at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, told NBC News. “Everyone is affected by this. “

The most recent comments from the Surgeon General follow the publication of an advisory on tackling disinformation about Covid-19. The document – which included suggestions for people in various roles like educators, medical professionals and the media can do to prevent the spread of such ideas – called stemming the spread of disinformation an “effort.” of society as a whole ”.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, health misinformation created confusion, reduced confidence in public health measures and hampered efforts to immunize Americans,” the advisory said. “And disinformation has not only damaged our physical health, it has also divided our families, friends and communities.”

About 48.5% of Americans are vaccinated. However, the United States missed the benchmarks set by the Biden administration. The nation failed to meet the goal of having 70 percent of American adults with at least one injection by July 4. Demand for vaccines has also slowed, while daily infections in the United States have doubled in recent weeks, averaging around 24,000 cases per day.