COVID-19 misinformation and the new 'Dirty Dozen'

"The Dirty Dozen" was a 1967 movie that starred Lee Marvin and was based on a 1965 bestselling book by E.M. Nathansen. The fiction novel was inspired by the real-life World War II 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army known as the "Filthy Thirteen." The unit was assigned as demolition saboteurs to destroy enemy targets behind the lines. The danger and heroics of these missions inspired nonfiction novels to be released in 2012, 2014 and 2016. You might be asking what "The Dirty Dozen" has to do with the continued outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus across the globe. Unfortunately, we have a new type of dirty dozen that is dangerous but lacks heroics. This new group is known as the "disinformation dozen." The media has reported that two-thirds of the anti-vaccine content on social media platforms can be traced back to the disinformation dozen. This type of disinformation is tracked by several groups, but one group known as the Center for Countering Digital Hate has been following the myths posted about COVID-19 and the vaccines. The Center for Countering Digital Hate started long before COVID-19, and its mission is "to disrupt the architecture of online hate and misinformation." The nonprofit organization was founded in 2017 and has offices in London and Washington, D.C. A disappointing member of this disinformation dozen is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is not new to the anti-vaccine movement, and has being spreading false vaccine information prior to COVID-19. He has set up various nonprofit groups to fight vaccine progress and distribution. Many organizations and news media outlets have exposed the false claims of his organizations, and he has been banned by several social media sites. He recently funded and produced an anti-vaccine film that spreads false claims about the COVID-19 vaccines. Vanity Fair magazine went after the disinformation expressed in the film with an article titled "How Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Became the Anti-vaxxer Icon of America's Nightmares." Kennedy himself recently sent a letter to President Joe Biden that was overflowing with misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and the reporting systems for vaccine side effects. It is hard to estimate how much damage disinformation like this causes in the fight to end the pandemic. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey completed between July 15 and July 27 still shows at least 14% of Americans will not get the vaccine. The major reasons still seem to be associated with disinformation such as the news media has exaggerated the pandemic and that the vaccine is worse than getting the disease. This is sad news for our children under age 12 in the United States because there is no vaccine currently available for them. With U.S. cases of COVID-19 raising exponentially, pediatric hospitals are running out of beds to treat children whether they have COVID or not. Adults and children 12 and older are our best defense to help stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2 with vaccinations, masks and social distancing. Organizations like NewsGuard are another great defense against disinformation. NewsGuard was started by journalists and editors to rate websites on their ability to provide the truth and not mislead the public. You can check their website to find what are the best and most reliable websites to provide information, including the COVID-19 pandemic. They have established an excellent resource titled the Coronavirus Misinformation Tracking Center. The center has identified 519 websites that have false and misleading information on COVID-19. Of the 519 websites with myths, 339 of them are located in the U.S., followed by France at 59, Germany at 41, Italy at 41 and the United Kingdom at 21. The site also has a COVID-19 Misinformation Resources section which is loaded with excellent information, including debunks for the top 52 myths about COVID-19 vaccines and the top 22 myths about the pandemic. NewsGuard has partnered with the World Health Organization to combat COVID-19 misinformation and alerts the organization to misleading and harmful information including social media platforms. I would prefer to remember the words of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural speech when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country." It is time to ignore the disinformation dozen and the numerous misinformation websites and focus on how to access the best science and evidence to really protect our country. Feel free to call the Ohio Northern University HealthWise Pharmacy or talk to your health care professional for more information. ONU HealthWise is offering walk-ins for COVID-19 vaccines. Call the pharmacy at 419-772-3784 to get more information or to schedule your vaccination. Kier is a pharmacist on behalf of the ONU HealthWise team.