19 misinformation” is full of false and misleading information, critics say.
Dr. Sarah Goff and colleagues in their study claimed that the COVID-19 vaccines are completely safe, that only nine deaths have been confirmed as being caused by the vaccines, and that there are no negative consequences to wearing masks.
In some instances, the authors went against their own definition of misinformation. They defined misinformation as information that went against guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or “unsubstantiated claims.”
The CDC in 2021 acknowledged severe allergic shock as a COVID-19 vaccine side effect. The agency also said that year that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines likely caused heart inflammation and that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine caused blood clotting.
The study was published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open and covered January 2021 to December 2022.
Dr. Goff, an associate professor of health promotion and policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and other researchers from the university, also labeled as misinformation saying post-infection immunity, or natural immunity, was better than vaccine-bestowed immunity.
A statement from January 2022 from Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, saying “natural imm[unity] is more effective than vax [immunity]” was included as an example of purported misinformation.
According to the CDC, natural immunity provided better protection than the vaccines during the Delta era. Another CDC study, which came after the time period the study covered, found the same for the Omicron era.
“JAMA, CDC, & the government’s Truth™️ agencies spread a lot of misinformation during the pandemic,” Dr. Makary said in a social media post. “But when they use the term it’s to justify censoring different scientific opinions—even after they are later supported by solid research.”
Dr. Goff and JAMA did not respond to requests for comment.
The researchers said that their study found “widespread, inaccurate, and potentially harmful assertions made by physicians across the country,” adding that “Further research is needed to assess the extent of the potential harms associated with physician propagation of misinformation, the motivations for these behaviors, and potential legal and professional recourse to improve accountability for misinformation propagation.”
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