Exploring the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on wellbeing across different styles of lockdown

10.31234/osf.io/7wx6p

BACKGROUND: People with vestibular disorders experience symptoms which put them at risk of reduced wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on vestibular symptoms, access to healthcare and daily activities amongst people living with a vestibular disorder. METHODS: An online survey was completed by 124 people in the UK with a vestibular disorder. The survey incorporated the Vertigo Symptom Scale-Short Form and questions regarding health status, healthcare received, daily activities and employment during Covid-19. RESULTS: The Covid-19 pandemic affected perceptions of wellbeing. 54.1% rated their health as worse now than before the pandemic. Vertigo, unsteadiness, dizziness, tinnitus, loss of concentration/memory, and headaches were the most exacerbated symptoms. Respondents reported changes to their daily activities including reduced social contact (83%) and exercise (54.3%). Some experienced healthcare delays or received a remote appointment. Remote care was perceived as convenient, but barriers included difficulty communicating, trouble concentrating and perceived unsuitability for initial appointments. Unintended benefits of the pandemic included less social pressure, avoiding busy environments, and engaging in self-care. CONCLUSION: The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are diverse. Clinical services should be mindful that Covid-19 can exacerbate vestibular and allied neuropsychiatric symptoms that require acute, multi-disciplinary intervention, but not lose sight of the potential benefit and cost saving associated with promoting self-management and delivering remote care, especially post-diagnosis.

Living with a vestibular disorder during the Covid-19 pandemic

10.31234/osf.io/64x7s

Covid-19 outbreak started on December in China, and fastly it was propagated in all the world. Later, during the second week of March, it was declared as pandemic by World Health Organization. Japan has the first case on January 3, 2020 and the first report deaths was on February 18. The scope of this work is to analyze how Japanese people faced the pandemic from January 1 to September 15. The approach for the analysis is based on Text Mining of collected data from Social Network Twitter and Google Trends. The preliminary results are: Twitter can reflect the situation of Japanese citizens during the pandemic and encouraging messages were related to Covid-19 keyword.

How Japanese citizens faced the COVID-19 pandemic?: Exploration from twitter

When AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate passed its large-scale clinical trials in late November last year, the company was rightfully excited. It had an effective vaccine, 200 million projected doses to deliver in 2020 alone, and a product that didn’t need complicated ultra-cold storage protocols like its rivals. AstraZeneca had “a vaccine for the world,” an Oxford Vaccine Group official told Reuters. But the company hit bumps in the road almost immediately after announcing the trial results—for example, its claim that the vaccine could be 90 percent effective was compromised by a mistake in dosages during testing. The rollout hasn’t gotten much smoother since. Nowhere, arguably, is that more true than in Europe. Put simply, the company failed to deliver 90 million doses to EU countries during the first quarter of 2021, while still managing to supply the United Kingdom with more than 20 million doses. At the same time, European regulators were investigating safety concerns with the vaccine. Exasperated politicians like French President Emmanuel Macron were spreading misinformation, seemingly ready to believe the worst about the jab. The British press was parsing vaccine news through the lens of their country’s acrimonious divorce from Europe, Brexit. And AstraZeneca itself was dissembling about why it couldn’t deliver on its commitments to the continent, leading to a legal and rhetorical showdown with the European Union. The result has been a fight between the United Kingdom, the European Union, and AstraZeneca that, in turn, has pummeled public confidence in the vaccine across Europe.

How to trash confidence in a COVID-19 vaccine: Brexit edition

ok, but I would have hoped that in an ideal public communication medium for science, people had megaphones that were commensurate with their skills and expertise, if there was variation among platform members at all. And I'd hope that users were calibrated re own expertise

Most of Wales' remaining Covid rules will be lifted as the nation enters the "final lap" of the pandemic, the first minister has said.

Covid: Most of Wales' coronavirus rules to end Saturday

10.31234/osf.io/mnu7e

During February and March 2020, the Italian government decided to provide guidelines in order to counter the spreading of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Several studies have shown that the first Lockdown deeply affected the psychological well-being of the individuals, but the role of possible protective variables is currently not known. In the present study we aimed to investigate the impact of several behavioral variables on individuals’ mental states and emotions experienced during the first Lockdown in Italy. Participants were 172 Italian adults and they were asked to answer several questions regarding the intensity of mental states and emotions experienced, the perceived usefulness of lockdown, the feeling of living a normal life, and the coping strategies implemented to face the pandemic. Results showed that, during the first wave of COVID-19 in Italy, only the perceived usefulness of lockdown positively affected people’s emotions. This result suggests that a better communication of the experimental findings supporting the political decisions made, and behavioral measures shaped to increase people’s commitment to the proposed rules are crucial in order to enhance people’s wellbeing. While this result is limited to the first wave and the first lockdown, future research should assess the role of rule acceptance and coping strategies in subsequent waves of COVID-19, and consequent partial or total lockdowns.

Psychological well-being and lockdown: a study on an Italian sample during the first COVID-19 wave

10.31234/osf.io/4jx9a

As the COVID-19 pandemic has been highly stressful for parents and children, it is clear that strategies that promote long-term family resilience are needed to protect families in future crises. One such strategy, the Family Foundations program, is focused on promoting supportive coparenting at the transition to parenthood. In a randomized trial, we tested the long-term intervention effects of Family Foundations on parent, child, and family wellbeing one to two months after the imposition of a national shelter-in-place public health intervention in 2020. We used regression models to test intervention impact on outcomes reported on by parents in a standard questionnaire format and a series of 8 days of daily reports. We also tested moderation of intervention impact by parent depression and coparenting relationship quality. Relative to control families, intervention families demonstrated significantly lower levels of individual and family problems (general parent hostility, harsh and aggressive parenting, coparenting conflict, sibling relationship conflict, and children’s negative mood and behavior problems), and higher levels of positive family relationship quality (positive parenting, couple relationship quality, sibling relations, and family cohesion). For some outcomes, including coparenting conflict, harsh parenting, and child behavior problems, intervention effects were larger for more vulnerable families—that is, families with higher pre-pandemic levels of parent depression or lower levels of coparenting relationship quality. We conclude that targeted family prevention programming is able to promote healthy parent and child functioning during unforeseen future periods of acute stress. The long-term benefits of a universal approach to family support at the transition to parenthood indicate the need for greater investment in the dissemination of effective approaches.

Family Foundations effects during a pandemic: 10 year follow-up

Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) COVID-19 vaccine is working well in South Africa, offering protection against severe disease and death, the co-head of a trial in the country said on Friday.

South African study shows high COVID protection from J&J shot

10.31234/osf.io/v2gd9

The population's adhesion to measures to ensure social distancing represents a great management challenge. Evidence has shown that social distancing is effective. However, it is challenging to separate government measures from social distancing driven by personal initiatives. Theory: It is possible that the output of protective behaviors, such as adherence to protective measures and staying in social isolation, is influenced by individual characteristics, such as personality traits or symptoms of mental distress of anxiogenic nature. We hypothesized that individuals with more expressive symptoms of fear or anxiety would have a more protective behavioral tendency in terms of risk exposure, leaving less home during the pandemic. In contrast, individuals with greater emotional stability, as they feel more secure and with a lower perception of risk, could go out more often. Material and Methods: A total of 2709 individuals from all regions of Brazil participated in the study (mean age = 42 years; 2134 women). Correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between personality traits according to the big five model and Psychopathological Symptoms (BSI). Then investigate how people that go out usually differ from people that stay at home, in both symptoms and personality traits. Finally, to investigate the predictors for going out usually, we use multiple regression analysis, using gender, marital status, level of education, and personality traits. Results: During the second wave of COVID-19 in Brazil, individuals with higher emotional stability tended to leave home more than those with more expressive levels of anxiogenic dysregulation. These results reinforce the role of both personality traits and psychopathological symptoms in prophylactic behavior during COVID-19 pandemics.

GOING OUT NORMALLY DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: INSIGHTS ABOUT THE LACK OF ADHESION TO SOCIAL DISTANCING

10.31234/osf.io/mzswb

Trust in leaders is central to citizen compliance with public policies. One potential determinant of trust is how leaders resolve conflicts between utilitarian and non- utilitarian ethical principles in moral dilemmas. Past research suggests that utilitarian responses to dilemmas can both erode and enhance trust in leaders: sacrificing some people to save many others (‘instrumental harm’) reduces trust, while maximizing the welfare of everyone equally (‘impartial beneficence’) may increase trust. In a multi-site experiment spanning 22 countries on six continents, participants (N = 23,929) completed self-report (N = 17,591) and behavioral (N = 12,638) measures of trust in leaders who endorsed utilitarian or non-utilitarian principles in dilemmas concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. Across both the self-report and behavioral measures, endorsement of instrumental harm decreased trust, while endorsement of impartial beneficence increased trust. These results show how support for different ethical principles can impact trust in leaders, and inform effective public communication during times of global crisis.

Moral dilemmas and trust in leaders during a global health crisis

10.1177/0146167220969051

People often exhibit biases in probability weighting such as overweighting small probabilities and underweighting large probabilities. Our research examines whether increased social distance would reduce such biases. Participants completed valuation and choice tasks of probabilistic lotteries under conditions with different social distances. The results showed that increased social distance reduced these biases in both hypothetical (Studies 1 and 2) and incentivized (Study 3) settings. This reduction was accompanied by a decrease in emotional intensity and an increase in the attention to probability in the decision-making process (Study 4). Moreover, the bias-buffering effect of social distance was stronger in the gain domain than in the loss domain (Studies 1–4). These results suggest that increasing the social distance from the beneficiaries of the decisions can reduce biases in probability weighting and shed light on the relationship between social distance and the emotional-cognitive process in decision-making.

Social Distance Reduces the Biases of Overweighting Small Probabilities and Underweighting Large Probabilities

The latest coronavirus news updated every day including coronavirus cases, the latest news, features and interviews from New Scientist and essential information about the covid-19 pandemic

Covid-19 news: Pregnant women in England urged to get vaccinated

Through COVAX, 1 million Johnson & Johnson doses arrived in Bolivia today.

On Tuesday morning, I stood outside the Knox County Health Department and asked people walking in why they were finally getting their COVID shot. Only 45.7 percent of Knox County residents are fully vaccinated, and COVID cases are rising here, with the seven-day average of cases at its highest level since early May. Last week, Tennessee’s top vaccination official, Dr. Michelle Fiscus, was fired from her position at the state’s Department of Health after Republican lawmakers objected to the department’s COVID outreach to teenagers (listen to Slate’s interview with Fiscus here). The department has halted all vaccination outreach to minors, not only for COVID.

Vaccine-Skeptical Tennesseans on Why They’re Finally Getting the Shot

There seems to be a concerted effort today by Fox's daytime news shows to promote the vaccines to its audience. Dr. Marc Siegel says "the Delta variant needs to be a wake-up call to get vaccinated." Anchor John Roberts then directs viewers to the government vaccine website.

Correcting a statistic I gave at the press conference today, 19 July. About 60% of hospitalisations from covid are not from double vaccinated people, rather 60% of hospitalisations from covid are currently from unvaccinated people.

10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01642-1

Vaccines based on the spike glycoprotein of SARS-CoV-2 are being rolled out globally to control transmission and limit morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19. Current evidence indicates strong immunogenicity and high short-term efficacy for BNT162b2 (Pfizer–BioNTech) and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Oxford–AstraZeneca).1Polack FP Thomas SJ Kitchin N et al.Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.N Engl J Med. 2020; 383: 2603-2615Crossref PubMed Scopus (1358) Google Scholar,  2Voysey M Clemens SAC Madhi SA et al.Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK.Lancet. 2021; 397: 99-111Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (609) Google Scholar,  3Lopez Bernal J Andrews N Gower C et al.Effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines on covid-19 related symptoms, hospital admissions, and mortality in older adults in England: test negative case-control study.BMJ. 2021; 13: 373Google Scholar Both vaccines are delivered through a prime-boost strategy, and many countries, including the UK, have used dose intervals longer than 3–4 weeks, expecting to maximise first-dose coverage and immunogenicity. With continued high global incidence, and potential for more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants, data on longer-term vaccine efficacy and antibody dynamics in infection-naive individuals are essential for clarifying the need for further booster doses.

Spike-antibody waning after second dose of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1

10.1038/s41586-021-03843-2

Enhancing vaccine uptake is a critical public health challenge1. Overcoming vaccine hesitancy2,3 and failure to follow-through on vaccination intentions3 requires effective communication strategies3,4. We present two sequential randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to test the impact of behavioral interventions on COVID-19 vaccine uptake. We designed text-based reminders that make vaccination salient and easy, and delivered them to patients of a healthcare system one day (first RCT; N=93,354, clinicaltrials #NCT04800965) and eight days (second RCT; N=67,092, NCT04801524) after they received notification of vaccine eligibility. The first reminder boosted appointments and vaccination rates within the healthcare system by 6.07 (84%) and 3.57 (26%) percentage points, respectively; the second reminder increased those outcomes by 1.65 and 1.06 percentage points, respectively. The first reminder was more impactful when it made patients feel the vaccine was already theirs. However, we find no evidence that combining it with an information intervention addressing vaccine hesitancy heightened its effect. Online studies (N=3,181) examining vaccination intentions reveal divergent patterns from the first RCT, underscoring the importance of pilot-testing interventions in the field. These findings inform the design of behavioral nudges for promoting health decisions5, highlighting the value of making vaccination easy and inducing feelings of ownership.

Behavioral Nudges Increase COVID-19 Vaccinations

10.1073/pnas.2101967118

Although it is under-studied relative to other social media platforms, YouTube is arguably the largest and most engaging online media consumption platform in the world. Recently, YouTube’s scale has fueled concerns that YouTube users are being radicalized via a combination of biased recommendations and ostensibly apolitical “anti-woke” channels, both of which have been claimed to direct attention to radical political content. Here we test this hypothesis using a representative panel of more than 300,000 Americans and their individual-level browsing behavior, on and off YouTube, from January 2016 through December 2019. Using a labeled set of political news channels, we find that news consumption on YouTube is dominated by mainstream and largely centrist sources. Consumers of far-right content, while more engaged than average, represent a small and stable percentage of news consumers. However, consumption of “anti-woke” content, defined in terms of its opposition to progressive intellectual and political agendas, grew steadily in popularity and is correlated with consumption of far-right content off-platform. We find no evidence that engagement with far-right content is caused by YouTube recommendations systematically, nor do we find clear evidence that anti-woke channels serve as a gateway to the far right. Rather, consumption of political content on YouTube appears to reflect individual preferences that extend across the web as a whole.

Examining the consumption of radical content on YouTube

10.31234/osf.io/huxm7

Explanations of science denial rooted in individual cognition tend to focus on general trait-like factors such as cognitive style, conspiracist ideation or delusional ideation. However, we argue that this focus typically glosses over the concrete, mechanistic elements of belief formation, such as hypothesis generation, data gathering, or hypothesis evaluation. We show, empirically, that such elements predict variance in science denial not accounted for by cognitive style, even after accounting for social factors such as political ideology. We conclude that a cognitive account of science denial would benefit from the study of complex (i.e., open-ended, multi-stage) problem solving that incorporates these mechanistic elements.

Studying science denial with a complex problem-solving task

10.31234/osf.io/dnc87

Sexual and gender minorities (SGM) constitute vulnerable groups in many countries. Thus, they might be affected to a different extent than heterosexual and cisgender individuals by the Coronavirus pandemic. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current state of international research on the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic on SGM individuals. Following the PRISMA protocol, we synthesized 35 publications including different article formats. Key findings yield that SGM individuals overall suffer to a larger extent from combinations of both minority- and pandemic-specific stressors. Some evidence was contradicting across studies, for example changes in the extent of risk behavior, and minority stress experiences during the pandemic. Although our review distinctively spots on the impact of the pandemic on SGM individuals’ lives, its pathways still remain to be better understood. Moreover, future research should also examine the yet unforeseeable long-term consequences of the pandemic for SGM populations.

Sexual and Gender Minorities Facing the Coronavirus Pandemic: A Systematic Review

The government has a moral duty to encourage vaccine uptake, though it must find a way to minimise the backlash

Covid passports could work – but coercion is doomed to fail

More than 20,000 people a minute book jabs after cafes, malls and trains ruled out of bounds for the unvaccinated

France reports rush for vaccines after Macron tightens Covid rules

Roughly one-fifth of Americans were initially hesitant about or squarely against getting the Covid-19 vaccine but have since gotten their shots, according to polling released Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

A new poll shows why some vaccine-hesitant Americans decided to get the Covid-19 shot

At the beginning of 2021 as vaccine distribution began in the U.S., KFF conducted interviews with a nationally representative sample of adults using open-ended questions to better understand public concerns around receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. Six months later, we recontacted these individuals to find out whether they chose to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, their reasoning behind their decisions, and how they are feeling about their choice. The vast majority (92%) of those who planned to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” in early 2021 have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as have slightly more than half (54%) of individuals who had previously said they wanted to “wait and see” before getting vaccinated. On the other hand, a majority (76%) of people who had previously said they would “only get vaccinated if required” or said they would “definitely not” get a COVID-19 vaccine remain unvaccinated. One-fifth of adults (21%) now report being vaccinated after saying in January they planned on waiting to get vaccinated, would only get it if required, or would definitely not get vaccinated. Many of these individuals noted the role of their friends and family members as well as their personal doctors in persuading them to get a vaccine. Seeing their friends and family members get vaccinated without serious side effects, talking to family members about being able to safely visit, and conversations with their personal doctors about their own risks were all persuasive factors for these individuals. A small but meaningful share also say the easing of restrictions for vaccinated people was a factor in their decision to get a vaccine. When asked to name the feeling that best describes how they feel now that they have been vaccinated, nearly a quarter of vaccinated adults offer responses around feeling safe (24%) and relieved (22%). Other positive feelings reported were freedom, confidence, and more certainty that if they did get COVID-19 it would be less serious or they were less likely to die from it. And while most respondents react with some positive emotion, one in ten said they felt the same or neutral. This feeling was more common among those who initially said they would “wait and see” in January or who said they would only get vaccinated if required or would not get vaccinated. Conversations with family members and friends have played a major role in persuading people to get vaccinated. Two-thirds of vaccinated adults say they have tried to persuade their friends and family members to get a COVID-19 vaccine, and 17% of adults who are now vaccinated after saying in January they planned on waiting to get vaccinated, would only get it if required, or would definitely not get vaccinated, say they were persuaded to do so by a family member and 5% say they were persuaded by a friend. In addition to this, others cite protecting friends and family members as the main reason for getting vaccinated and others offer being able to see their friends and family members as well as family pressure or encouragement as the main reasons why they chose to receive a vaccine. About one-fourth of those who previously said they planned on getting vaccinated “as soon as possible” or were wanting to “wait and see” before getting a vaccine, remain unvaccinated six months later. Some of these individuals either have an appointment to get a vaccine or still plan on getting it as soon as they are able, but one in ten (6% of total) now say they either will “only get vaccinated if required” or say they will “definitely not” get a vaccine. When asked what changed their mind, many offer concerns about the side effects of the vaccine as the reasons why they now do not plan on getting vaccinated. Being concerned about side effects is the top reason offered by unvaccinated people for why they haven’t gotten a COVID-19 vaccine. When asked what would motivate them to get vaccinated against COVID-19, most in the “wait and see” group say they just want more time to see how the vaccine affects others who have already gotten it.

KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: In Their Own Words, Six Months Later

And story here:

Informative thread here:

Over half of those who answered "wait and see" to @KFF's vaccine poll in January have now received the vaccine. So what changed their mind? - Seeing friends and family without side effects - Doctors and healthcare providers encouraging them https://kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-in-their-own-words-six-months-later/

Fox News has put in place a vaccine passport system for their employees. Pass it on.

In the latest salvo of the social media wars, a coalition of liberal individuals and groups has written to Facebook and Twitter urging them to ban 12 people who, one study found, spread the bulk of disinformation about coronavirus vaccines. 

The Daily 202: Nearly 30 groups urge Facebook, Instagram, Twitter to take down vaccine disinformation

A Black couple who refused to be vaccinated because of concerns about the federal government's infamous Tuskegee study have died from COVID-19.

Black couple who refused vaccine due to infamous Tuskegee syphilis study die from COVID-19 three hours apart

COVID19 vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving. Employer mandates can cut through the swirling misinformation on this topic and bring the pandemic in America to an end. Listen to the whole convo with @PJSkerret on @STATnews First Opinion podcast:

Employer vaccine mandates are ethical, effective, and will save lives. The health care industry should lead the way: care providers have a moral obligation to their patients, & remaining unvaccinated during a pandemic shirks their responsibility to do no harm.

States have tried million dollar lotteries and other incentives, yet only 1% of the population is being vaccinated each week. With cases surging across the US, the unvaccinated & partially vaccinated are increasingly at risk. In areas w/ low vaccination rates, deaths are spiking.

Masks are off, theaters and indoor dining are back: life seems to be returning to normal. But the highly transmissible Delta variant is spreading quickly, & we aren’t even halfway to a fully vaccinated population. It’s time for employer vaccine mandates.

They’re not all anti-vaxxers, and treating them as such is making things worse.

America Is Getting Unvaccinated People All Wrong

Good news: vaccine hesitancy collapses Smart data analysis from @TheEconomist https://economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/07/24/the-right-and-wrong-ways-to-reduce-vaccine-hesitancy

Government seeks to drive up vaccination rate amid resurgence in coronavirus infections

Italy imposes ‘green pass’ restrictions on unvaccinated people

To enter nightclubs and some other venues, proof of two coronavirus jabs will be compulsory for most

How will England’s domestic Covid vaccine passports work?

Staff making reminder calls are being threatened for carrying out NHS work, say doctors’ leaders

GP staff receive abuse every day over Covid vaccine reminders

Five days after the World Health Organization classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University began cataloging misinformation efforts surrounding the spread of the coronavirus in collaboration with Microsoft Research. Our initial goal was to support industry efforts to limit the spread of false narratives about the pandemic, and we realized that categorizing the stories we found in a systematic way and making the data public could contribute to a much broader understanding of trends in COVID-19 misinformation. Led by Jacob Shapiro, a professor at Princeton, and research specialists Samikshya Siwakoti and Jan Oledan, our team of undergraduate students from Princeton tapped into their language skills to scour the internet and social media the world over to identify, record, and track COVID-19 misinformation narratives. We eventually recruited an international network of 28 research assistants from six universities across 10 countries, covering misinformation stories in every region of the world, from Europe and the Middle East, to Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the United States. By December 2020, we recorded 5,613 distinct misinformation stories from over 80 countries, in 35 languages. The global reach of the pandemic created a unique opportunity for a regional analysis of misinformation trends. It allowed us to explore the ways in which misinformation actors in many countries, regions, and cultural contexts responded against the common backdrop of COVID-19. We observed several overlapping misinformation narratives. No matter where in the world we looked, there were plenty of claims of false cures or fake home remedies, outlandish accounts of supposed government conspiracies, and reports of exaggerated case counts meant to instill fear— trends we explored in a series of articles in the Bulletin over the past year. Most of these stories appear to have been efforts to shape political debates. But a myriad of motivations likely prompted the misinformation we found—including people seeking ideological ends, political gain, and financial profit. An overwhelming majority—80 percent of the stories—were spread by individuals on social media such as Facebook and Twitter, while 17 percent were spread by media outlets and political figures. It is often suggested that all politics is local; so is misinformation. Contrary to what one might expect from the globalized information environment, the salient themes in pandemic-related false narratives varied significantly across regions and countries; localized false narratives prevailed over global ones. When generating misinformation, social media users seemed to absorb a common set of COVID-19 background conditions and use them to falsify specific narratives to reflect local and regional realities.

We’ve analyzed thousands of COVID-19 misinformation narratives. Here are six regional takeaways

LONG THREAD on masks. Mute if not interested. Do masks work? Why do some people claim they don’t work? Do they cause harm? What kinds of masks should we wear? How does masking need to change now we know that Covid is airborne? When can we stop wearing them? Get your popcorn. 1/

But partisanship isn’t the only thing that has shaped Americans’ vaccination status. Unvaccinated Americans tend to be younger, less well-educated and poorer; they are also more likely to be a person of color. The situation we’re in is not just because of politics but also because of access to the vaccine and broader skepticism of the health care system.

Partisanship Isn’t The Only Reason Why So Many Americans Remain Unvaccinated

A mysterious marketing agency secretly offered to pay social media stars to spread disinformation about Covid-19 vaccines. Their plan failed when the influencers went public about the attempt to recruit them.

The YouTubers who blew the whistle on an anti-vax plot

10.1186/s12879-021-06357-4

Scientists across disciplines, policymakers, and journalists have voiced frustration at the unprecedented polarizationand misinformation around coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Several false dichotomies have beenused to polarize debates while oversimplifying complex issues. In this comprehensive narrative review, wedeconstruct six common COVID-19 false dichotomies, address the evidence on these topics, identify insightsrelevant to effective pandemic responses, and highlight knowledge gaps and uncertainties. The topics of thisreview are: 1) Health and lives vs. economy and livelihoods, 2) Indefinite lockdown vs. unlimited reopening, 3)Symptomatic vs. asymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, 4) Dropletvs. aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2, 5) Masks for all vs. no masking, and 6) SARS-CoV-2 reinfection vs. noreinfection. We discuss the importance of multidisciplinary integration (health, social, and physical sciences),multilayered approaches to reducing risk (“Emmentaler cheese model”), harm reduction, smart masking, relaxationof interventions, and context-sensitive policymaking for COVID-19 response plans. We also address the challenges inunderstanding the broad clinical presentation of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 transmission, and SARS-CoV-2 reinfection.These key issues of science and public health policy have been presented as false dichotomies during thepandemic. However, they are hardly binary, simple, or uniform, and therefore should not be framed as polarextremes. We urge a nuanced understanding of the science and caution against black-or-white messaging, all-or-nothing guidance, and one-size-fits-all approaches. There is a need for meaningful public health communicationand science-informed policies that recognize shades of gray, uncertainties, local context, and social determinants ofhealth.

COVID-19 false dichotomies and acomprehensive review of the evidenceregarding public health, COVID-19symptomatology, SARS-CoV-2 transmission,mask wearing, and reinfection

The Russian marketing agency Fazze made a splash with attempts to pay off European influencers to spread fake dirt about Western vaccines in an apparent bid to make Moscow’s COVID-19 jab seem more appealing