Maryland Health Department Launches Social Media Initiative

It’s designed to counter misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19.

Baltimore, Md (KM) A social media initiative has been launched by the Maryland Department of Health  to counter the misinformation and disinformation about the COVID-19 virus and the vaccine.

Maryland Health Secretary Dennis Schrader says the Department began posting facts on its GoVaxMaryland Twitter feed to answer the false information being spread about the virus and the vaccine. “We believe a lot of this misinformation and disinformation surrounding is COVID-19 is putting people’s lives at risk and we feel obligated to get the good information out into the public domain,”: says Secretary Schrader.

He says a large majority of Marylanders have received their COVID shots, which includes 80% of those 18 and older, up to 70% of people 12 to 17, and 95% of those citizens who are 65 and older. Despite that, Secretary Schrader says there are more people still need to be vaccinated; and it’s important to get the shots to as many of those individuals as possible in order to end this pandemic. “We still need to vaccinate another mullion people. What we’re finding is that people putting misinformation and disinformation out there has been a problem,” says Schrader.

The Secretary says some of that false information is there’s a greater risk of infertility from the vaccine, and it can alter a person’s DNA;  none of which is true.

Schrader says the Twitter feed at GoVaxMaryland at #MdVaxFacts has information about COVID and the vaccine. But starting next Thursday, September 23rd, and every other Thursday after that, there will be live question and answer sessions. “We’re going to get experts, nationally recognized medical experts, to conduct Twitter live streams. So they’ll answer questions and address disinformation and misinformation,:”: he says.

Participants do not have to submit their questions ahead of time. “We just feel we got to get the story out. And by using this Twitter feed with medical experts it will be another way to get more people vaccinated,” says Secretary Schrader

By Kevin McManus