Disinformation on covid-19 vaccines a growing virus

Disinformation and, conspiracy theories are a growing virus in the midst of the vaccination process against Covid-19 that needs an antidote of transparent information on the age and vaccination status of people who are hospitalized and die say Panama scientists.

Ivonne Torres Atencio, director of the Department of Pharmacology of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Panama, told La Prensa that disinformation has gained ground, in part because there has not been an appropriate campaign by the Ministry of Health (Minsa) with evidence of the benefits of vaccination  and fears and misinformation take a toll on the population that does not follow reliable sources of scientific information

Disinformation about vaccines is described by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as one of the most serious risks to public health and is even more harmful when it fuels doubts.

Jorge Luis Prosperi, a member of the Health Advisory Council, stated that adequate communication has been and is the Achilles heel in controlling the epidemic. Achieving acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine by the population is a great challenge facing the health sector at this stage of the fight to control the disease.

Data from the Expanded Program on Immunization of the Minsa show that in the country there are at least 26% of people with at least one dose and 14% with two doses of the anticovid vaccine, so that vaccination must still continue to be encouraged in the population.

Torres Atencio says that scientific evidence indicates that the two vaccines that are part of the vaccine portfolio in Panama, both Pfizer and AstraZeneca / Oxford University, are effective against the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants.

He recommended that the health authorities meet with the scientific community, put the personnel assigned to promotion and communication to work properly, and align the messages with the scientific movements.

Xavier Sáez-Llorens, infectologist, pediatrician, and advisor to the Covid-19 Panama Vaccine Research Consortium, stated that misinformation is fought head-on, forcefully, clearly and daily. The Government, medical and scientific associations, the media, businessmen and workers must act as a common force so that the correct message reaches all inhabitants.

He said that it is urgent to have transparent and real-time information on the ages and vaccinated people who are hospitalized and die in the country. This information would serve to encourage more people to get vaccinated as the majority of serious cases and deaths from Covid-19 occur in unvaccinated individuals, he said.

Recently, the Panamanian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology highlighted that figures from Minsa show that vaccines have reduced fatality in Panama by 58%.

The total (historical) fatality is 1.6% and the fatality in the last month is 0.68%. This number is expected to continue to decline as more people are vaccinated.

Currently, 99% of the population that dies from Covid-19 in Panama is unvaccinated; while those vaccinated represent only 0.8% of deaths .