Jesse Ehrenfeld, an anesthesiologist at a Wisconsin hospital, asked a patient scheduled for heart surgery a routine question: Would she consent to a blood transfusion if necessary? Despite being standard, the patient declined.
The incident occurred in 2021, shortly after the COVID-19 vaccine had become publicly available. However, this particular patient expressed a firm refusal to receive the vaccine or blood from individuals who had been vaccinated.
“It was at that moment I knew we were in for it,” Ehrenfeld said. Four years ago this week, The World Health Organization officially classified COVID-19 as a pandemic, marking a pivotal moment in recognizing the global crisis.
Concurrently, then-President Donald Trump declared a nationwide emergency, a measure that lasted three years. Although the pandemic no longer commands the same level of attention in headlines, misinformation continues to proliferate online regarding nearly every aspect of the virus.
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Tragically, more than 1.1 million individuals in the U.S. have succumbed to COVID-19, including a significant number who, often influenced by misinformation, opted against vaccination. Approximately 30% of the population remains unvaccinated, having not received the initial series of vaccines.
The dissemination of COVID-19 misinformation on social media has been a persistent worry for public health experts since the onset of the pandemic. According to USA TODAY’s fact-checking team, nearly 25% of all debunked claims from March 2020 to December 2021 were linked to COVID-19.
However, this figure declined to approximately 10% from January 2022 to December 2023.
While the specific claims varied, recurring themes included doubts regarding the existence and origin of the disease, assertions about alternative treatments, and a wide array of claims concerning the vaccine.
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Ehrenfeld emphasized that he and other doctors persist in engaging with patients who hold beliefs based on misleading or entirely false claims about COVID-19. This can sometimes negatively impact their health.
Despite ongoing efforts, thousands of individuals nationwide continue to be hospitalized with the disease each week, and tragically, some do not recover.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said Ehrenfeld, who became president of the American Medical Association last year. “We work so hard to practice evidence-based medicine.”
Experts told USA TODAY that misinformation about COVID-19 eroded trust in public health agencies, heightened already inflamed political divisions, and created a near-constant challenge to discern fact from fiction.
“We’re more willing to believe that dark forces are working behind the scenes against us,” said Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “That’s what these kinds of conspiracy theories provide.”
Medical providers emphasize the importance of conducting respectful conversations with patients, regardless of their perspectives.
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Amanda Johnson, a primary care doctor in New York City, highlighted the need to avoid frustration, stating, “I think those conversations are more likely to go poorly if you take it as a personal affront.” She has engaged with patients about misinformation, some of whom have sought her input on social media posts they’ve encountered. Johnson, who also leads NYC Health + Hospitals’ AfterCare program, noted that patients who feel they are losing control or facing coercion often respond most strongly.
Sedona Chinn, an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, emphasized that misinformation affects people from all backgrounds and shouldn’t be dismissed lightly.
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