A primary healthcare practitioner from the Republic of Congo, Africa, sheds light on the challenges of fighting health misinformation during the pandemic.
By Dr. Raphael Byamungu
Combating health-related misinformation is no easy task, particularly during the pandemic. As the Republic of Congo battles the third wave of COVID-19, the yawning vaccine gap between rich and poor countries continues to be a major challenge.
To make matters worse, there are numerous unscientific and harmful claims being made on social media – that spread fear and vaccine hesitancy among the public.
Here are two common COVID-19 myths from the Republic of Congo:
Myth #1: Once a person is hospitalised for COVID-19 and given oxygen support, the survival rate for the person reduces substantially.
Myth #2: There is presence of human cells in the vaccines against COVID-19. The nature of the vaccines – mRNA and DNA vaccines – has been the subject of much speculation.
As part of First Check’s Factually Speaking series on YouTube, Dr. Raphael helps debunk these health myths, based on scientific facts. You can watch the video here.
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The post Factually Speaking: Combating COVID-19 myths in Africa appeared first on Health Analytics Asia.
