PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine has found fertile ground on social media.
There are two major types of disinformation. Anecdotal cause-and-effect rumors, which connect a person's health issue to the fact they recently got a COVID-19 vaccine. Or, so-called "big lie" conspiracy theories, which allege the vaccine can cause everything from infertility to permanently altered genetics.
Disinformation and misinformation are certainly not new, said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
In 1796, Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine. At the time, there was a "big lie" created by those who fought the vaccine. They said if you got the vaccine, which was derived from cowpox, you would take on bovine characteristics — a snout, a tail, floppy ears.
It appears the more things change, the more they stay the same.
KYW Newsradio's Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.




