Jan 27, 2023
By Jane Brown
Misinformation about COVID-19 during 2021 cost lives, as in 2800 Canadian lives.
A new study from Council of Canadian Academies suggests the false beliefs that COVID-19 was a hoax or exaggerated led to at least 2.3-million people delaying or refusing to get the vaccine between March and November of 2021.
The report authors estimate that if those vaccinations had happened, there would have been 2800 fewer deaths from COVID-19 in Canada.
They also say this misinformation led to at least $300-million in hospital and ICU visits.
The report recommends several measures to help combat health misinformation:
– Ensure that accurate health and science information is widely accessible
– Honest and understandable communication by “trusted messengers” to reach diverse populations
– Encourage individuals to identify, label and debunk misinformation when they see it.
Council of Canadian Academies was asked by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to look at the “socioeconomic impacts of science and health misinformation and disinformation,” the group’s news release says.
The council bills itself as a not-for-profit that convenes experts in their respective fields to assess evidence on complex scientific topics of public interest and help inform policy.
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