There’s
never a good time for a pandemic, but social media, conspiracy theories, and
rising distrust of science make 2020 particularly ill-suited.
Why?
Because the
very physician whose job consists not only of healing, but also prevention,
must expend valuable energy contending with parents who have been effectively
misled to not fear the virus, or they’re terrified beyond reason of Covid-19
vaccines, and the great outdoors. Writing for the New York Times, pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass, along with some fellow medical professionals,
shares common myths, how and why they’re untrue, and where they come from.
Dr. Klass even
cops to temporarily allowing herself to believe some claims: “I would be lying
if I told you that I’m completely immune to Covid-19 scare stories, or never
drawn to quick fixes and miracle cures — at least for a moment of worry or a
moment of hope, till my brain takes over again.”
Like me,
you’ve no doubt heard anti-masking claims.
The idea that masks are 1) harmful,
2) useless, or 3) a plot by the “powers that be” to see who can be “controlled.
Or you know someone who is either secretly or outwardly anti-mask.
Or you know
someone who, like a prominent local in my town, dismisses Covid-19 as a mere flu.
Or maybe you’ve heard mouthwash users are less likely to get it, or that the
vaccines down the pike are not to be trusted, or even that isolating children
is bad for their immune systems.
I have heard all of the above, or more likely,
read it on social media.
READ MORE: Flu shots more crucial than ever, docs say
Much of
what the doctors in Dr. Klass’s article deal with is related to vaccines, both
existing and yet-to-come. Interestingly, and worryingly, even parents who have
no history of expressing mistrust over the existing flu vaccine, for instance,
are now unsure. The mistrust sown in the Age of Covid-19 spills over to other
areas.
On dealing
with questions from parents about what is and isn’t true about vaccines, Dr.
Klass’s peer Dr. Nusheen Ameenuddin, a community pediatrician at the Mayo
Clinic and the chairwoman of the American Academy of Pediatrics council on
communications and media, says, “When parents have heard stories that scare
them about vaccines, doctors shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that they are
‘anti-vaccine.’ Many are saying, ‘I want you to help me, not to treat me like
an idiot or treat me like I’m stupid, I want you to take my concerns seriously’.”
Dr.
Navasaria stresses: “All of this is happening out of a deep concern for the
well-being of children — that is what this is all about, whether we’re talking
about immunizations or school reopening, we need to start by keeping that in
mind or our explanations won’t succeed.”
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