![]() At the same time, such experiments can give pathogens new abilities, such as making viruses more transmissible or more dangerous to humans. Gain of function experiments involve manipulating a pathogen to understand what contributes to its ability to cause disease. While the government did reverse the ban after strong international political pressure, the damage had been done. Mbeki’s decision was considered so damaging that scientists and physicians worldwide signed the Durban Declaration, reiterating that HIV indeed causes AIDS and urging Mbeki to reconsider his decision. This decision resulted in the deaths of over 330,000 people from HIV/AIDS between 20. But his erroneous claim still reached the then president of the Republic of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, who banned the use of lifesaving antiretrovirals in public hospitals. AIDS denialist Peter Duesberg was one person who disseminated this misinformation, which had been refuted by the scientific community at large. Likewise, some denied the role of the HIV virus in AIDS infection. Misinformation is just one common theme between the COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS pandemics. Instead, they promote the idea that pathogens don’t cause disease, but rather are a consequence of it. In general, these groups tend to also deny germ theory, claiming that infectious diseases are not caused by pathogens like viruses and bacteria. Others do not contest the existence of COVID-19, but ignore the severe consequences of infection. There are abundant claims on social media that the virus that causes COVID-19 has never been isolated, or it is insufficiently characterized. There are people who deny the existence of COVID-19. Denying the existence of a virus or a pandemic However, there are striking parallels between the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics that show the dire consequences disinformation can have on both patients and society as a whole. In the 40 years since the emergence of AIDS, society has learned how to cope with the disease with more effective diagnostics, treatments and preventive strategies, transforming AIDS from a lethal condition to a chronic disease. The COVID-19 infodemic became such a problem that the Royal Society and the British Academy released an October 2020 report noting its significant impact on vaccine deployment, endorsing legislation that prosecutes those who spread misinformation.Īs a researcher who studies HIV and lived through the AIDS pandemic, I felt a sense of déjà vu as COVID-19 disinformation spread. Infodemics can affect economies, politics, national security and public health. The problem of misinformation has been so widespread that it has its own word: “ infodemic,” a portmanteau of “information” and “epidemic.” Coined by journalist David Rothkopf during the 2003 SARS outbreak, it describes a situation where “a few facts, mixed with fear, speculation and rumor, are amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies.” The COVID-19 infodemic began as soon as the first few cases of infections were confirmed. Similarly in Romania, disinformation is a contributing factor to the country’s disastrous fourth wave of COVID-19. In the U.S., for example, viewership of a Fox News program that downplayed the pandemic is associated with increased COVID-19 cases and deaths. Data shows that regions and countries where disinformation thrived experienced more lethal pandemic waves despite vaccine availability. What sets the COVID-19 pandemic apart, however, is the sheer magnitude of damaging disinformation put in circulation around the world. ![]() It fueled the 19th century smallpox anti-vaccine movements through some of the same arguments as those currently used against the COVID-19 vaccine. Misinformation altered how people trusted their governments and doctors during the 1918 influenza pandemic. ![]() Social media may have made the amount, variety and speed of misinformation seem unprecedented, but COVID-19 isn’t the first pandemic where false and harmful information has set back public health. Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus. ![]()
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