Despite what some online articles and social media outlets suggest, 新型冠状病毒肺炎 疫苗s do not contain tracking devices, nor will they cause infertility or alter your DNA. Those and other claims about the 疫苗s are simply false.
事实上, a wealth of scientific research demonstrates that the 疫苗s are safe and highly effective at keeping you from becoming seriously ill. Yet some people are not getting the protection they need because they think myths about the 疫苗s are true.
“Unlike many other types of misinformation, health misinformation surrounding 疫苗s can have real, 直接的危害, potentially even resulting in a preventable death,误传专家说 本·莱昂斯博士, an assistant professor of health communications at the University of Utah.
Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to tell fact from fiction. Lyons offers simple tips that can help. If you are still unsure whether health information is accurate, it’s better to slow the spread of potential misinformation by choosing not to share it. If you have questions, talk with your health care provider.
Scroll below the infographic to read the full explanations.
仔细检查来源
An article or social media post could be brimming with information that sounds convincing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it's accurate. Before believing anything you read, evaluate whether the source is a known authority on the subject. You can put trust in news organizations that fact check their content (e.g. 美联社, 全国公共广播电台, 纽约时报)、知名卫生组织(例如.g. 梅奥诊所, 约翰霍普金斯大学, 大发娱乐)、政府卫生机构(e.g. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. 美国食品药品监督管理局, 州卫生部门), and subject matter experts from those organizations.
如果你不熟悉来源, evaluate other information they have issued, 包括链接和声明, 看看它是否可信. If you can’t tell who authored the content in question, that’s a red flag. Read the information critically and think twice before sharing.
检查“专家”的资格
When reading social media posts and health news or talking to someone, remember that not every person—even if they have a medical or graduate degree—is an expert in the topic at hand. Public health, infectious diseases, 和疫苗 are all complex subjects. Give more weight to experts who understand the nuances and keep up with the latest information, 包括病毒学家, 传染病专家, 流行病学家, 以及初级卫生保健大发娱乐提供者.
阅读标题之外的内容
太经常了, headlines are written with a goal of evoking a strong reaction and driving the reader to share the article. That means that they do not always accurately reflect the corresponding article’s main points or important nuances within it. Whether looking at a post on social media or a news headline, read the entire piece to ensure that it contains solid information that you feel comfortable sharing.
搜索 for solid evidence that supports claims
A reliable article will link to the original source behind underlying claims. Look for links that direct you to studies published in reputable, peer-reviewed scientific or medical journals. If the article doesn’t include the original source, 或者它指向博客, 个人或商业网页, 或者不相关的研究, then question the validity of the information you are reading.
检查日期
Information is changing rapidly as scientific research reveals more each day about the 冠状病毒, 新型冠状病毒肺炎, 和疫苗. What’s more, the pandemic continues to evolve each week around the world. 考虑到这一点, up-to-the-minute health information is going to be more reliable than content that was published several weeks, 个月, 几年前. Be suspicious of articles that are undated.
谨防恐吓战术
Has a social media or blog post ever caused you to feel a strong emotion like anger, 焦虑, 或恐惧? If so, take a closer look before taking the underlying message to heart. Does the language seem to be written with a goal to shock or provoke? 附图是否令人担忧？? Is the message based on anecdotal stories rather than data? If so, scrutinize the source and underlying claims.
分享前三思
It’s tempting to share breaking news or trending social media posts, but remember that false information spreads faster than corrections to inaccurate information. 在传播消息之前, wait and see if other reliable sources independently come to the same conclusions. Comments from other readers can be informative. Sometimes qualified experts will correct misinformation or provide important context that puts the information in a different light.
做一个怀疑论者，而不是愤世嫉俗者
It’s good to view news with skepticism, but taking this notion too far could mean that nothing seems credible—not even sound information. 如果多个, reliable sources are coming to similar conclusions based on data that are backed by a variety of experts, 那么很有可能, 你做得很好.
“Although we sometimes need to check our first impulse and do a little extra work to find it, seeking out accurate information is important when it comes to keeping ourselves and those around us safe."