Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, founding director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Boston University, expressed concern about Covid vaccine misin

Infectious disease expert says Covid vaccine misinformation is 'killing people'

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2021-07-21 18:30:09

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, founding director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Boston University, expressed concern about Covid vaccine misinformation being spread on social media.

"I think social media is playing a big role in amplifying misinformation, which is leading to people not taking the vaccine, which is killing them," Bhadelia told CNBC on Friday. "It's the honest truth. Covid, right now, is a vaccine-preventable disease."

President Joe Biden on Friday said platforms like Facebook are killing people by allowing Covid-19 vaccine misinformation on their services. He walked back those comments Monday, largely blaming the platform's users who are sharing misinformation.

Bhadelia cited findings by the Kaiser Family Fund survey that found 54% of Americans either believe in or cannot distinguish whether a common Covid vaccine myth is fact or fiction.

The U.S. is grappling with a lagging vaccination rate and a rise in infections. All 50 states have reported a jump in Covid cases over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. is seeing an average of more than 26,000 new cases a day, and that's the highest number in two months, according to Johns Hopkins.