IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL) webinar on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

The quest for finding durable solutions to the ongoing pandemic, has encouraged scientists to produce new information at an unprecedented speed. However, the current pandemic is also characterized by an 'infodemic' where facts, checks, balances and reliable information stand side by side with fiction, myths, conspiracy theories and falsified information, especially with regards to COVID-19 vaccination.

They circulate on social media and saturate the public discourse to the extent that the public often finds difficulty to dissociate one from the other. So much so, that the long awaited vaccine discovery (by scientists), could be followed by unforeseen vaccine hesitancy (from the public) and precede a novel type of public health disaster. In addition, specific populations may not present the effectiveness reported to the vaccine until now. Collecting follow-up information about vaccine effectiveness in different target groups is crucial for the medical professionals as well as people everywhere.

IAP Young Physician Leaders (YPL) decided to try to set the records straight by contributing valuable information regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Specifically, Dr. Juan Carlos Núñez-Enríquez (Mexican Institute of Social Security; YPL of 2016) will raise the awareness about the importance of doctors and medical staff in the era of vaccination, while Dr. Biljana Gjoneska (Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts; YPL of 2011) will caution against the most prominent and vaccine-related conspiracy theories in the era of dis/information.

If you would like to attend contact Giovanni Ortolani, IAP Communications Assistant (gortolani@twas.org).