TikTok creators fight Covid-19 disinformation

The short viral video application TikTok (which is still not prohibited, by the way) becomes the unlikely new home for designers who claim to have first-hand experience with the covid-19 vaccine and expert testimony from ongoing vaccine trials.

A search of the hashtag #CovidVaccine, which has nearly 40 million views, reveals several videos of scientists and doctors debunking disinformation campaigns about the virus in addition to participants in covid-19 vaccine trials sharing their experiences, per weekend NBC News report.

Ashley Locke, a 29-year-old who claims her trial for AstraZeneca’s covid-19 vaccine began Nov. 16 in Nashville, Tennessee, has garnered millions of views for her videos documenting the process. A message from her receiving her first injection as part of the study had roughly 2.8 million views only, although you might want to ignore it if the needles make you nauseous (I really felt my stomach turn while looking at it). She won’t know if this injection was the real vaccine or a placebo until the study is over, but she told NBC she was busy answering the flood of questions and comments about the trial she’s got. received in the meantime.

“I’ve seen people post TikToks on different trips they have, like weight loss trips or moving to a new school and things like that, so I was, like, this vaccine trial is an interesting thing. I’ll post about it, ”Locke said in an interview with the outlet. “Maybe some people will find this interesting.”

AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company whose name I can’t read without hearing their marketing slogan “AstraZeneca could help…” in my head, is co-developing the vaccine with researchers at the University of Oxford. Their vaccine would have turned out 70% efficient protect against the virus, even if a manufacturer error in Phase III trials has raised concerns about the reliability of these results.

It is one of three experimental vaccines that have reportedly shown promising results in recent weeks, as well as those developed by biotech companies Moderna and BioNTech, the latter working with drugmaker Pfizer.

As NBC notes, other TikTok users have also posted videos claiming to share their own experiences of testing the covid-19 vaccine. Experts began to weigh too, with doctors and scientists post videos that demystify common vaccine misinformation and compare the differences among some of the vaccine trials.

Dr Kate Bredbenner, specialist in biomedical sciences with a specialization in biophysics, posted a video on November 11, she has already obtained 3.6 million views where she explains how Pfizer’s experimental vaccine would affect the novel coronavirus. She told NBC that while some anti-vaxxers have popped up here and there to leave nasty comments, for the most part her comments section is mostly filled with curious users just trying to find out more.

“It makes me feel so good. People really have real conversations, and people ask questions, and I think it’s kind of magical, ”Bredbenner said in an interview with the outlet.

In Locke’s video of her first injection, she said she would have regular checkups and blood tests for the next two years to watch for side effects. She told NBC she plans to tape a question-and-answer session with medics about the trial the next time she returns.

“I spoke to the communications director [of Clinical Research Associates]. Next time I come in, I will be able to ask some of the questions that I will not be able to answer. I’m going to be able to ask my doctors and hopefully get them on my videos to be a little more informative and answer other scientific things that I don’t know, but still in a clear way it’s easy for our audience. Locke said.

TIC Tac did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.

The coronavirus pandemic has been raging for much longer thaMost people were anticipating, especially in the United States where basic science and health precautions have become political questions, so it’s no surprise that people are eager to learn how we can beat this thing. To date, there have been more than 62 million cases of coronavirus and 1.4 million deaths worldwide, including more than 266,000 in the United States alone, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins.

When you can actually get the vaccine is another question. TuesdayUS Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said a vaccine against covid-19 could be distributed “soon” after being approved for emergency clearance by the Food and Drug Administration, which could intervene from December 10. Pfizer announced last week that it would seek emergency approval for its vaccine, which appears 95% efficient to prevent disease according to company tests. So a vaccine in time for Christmas isn’t entirely out of the question, but given that 2020 has been so far away, I would take this timeline with a colossal grain of salt.

[NBC News]