The national immunization rates in the Republic of Moldova have decreased over the past decade. The spread of misinformation and myths about vaccines contributes to increased anti-vaccination sentiments and promotes distrust in the immunization system. The topic of misinformation and the role of the mass media in promoting child health through immunization was discussed at a public event, IPN reports.
According to Oleg Lozan, director of the School of Public Health Management, the social listening tool allows doctors to understand the wishes of the population related to public health. Over the past years, this tool has allowed to produce very good reports related to COVID-19, migrants, etc. The obtained information must be used to change the state of affairs. Otherwise, the risk of loss of life as a result of improper activities related to vaccination is very high.
Angela Capcelea, health program coordinator at UNICEF, said the tool could be implemented thanks to USAID’s support. This year's Immunization Week is dedicated to the 50 years of the expanded program on immunization. In 1974, only 5% of the world’s population was immunized against diphtheria and tetanus, but in 2024 there is a 70% coverage globally and an 80% coverage in Europe. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, immunization coverage decreased compared to all vaccines. UNICEF reaffirms its support in strengthening the health system so that it has all the resources to ensure vaccination coverage of children and simultaneously comes up with messages to parents for them to be sure that they are doing what is best for their children.
Alina Timotin, head of studies at the School of Public Health Management, said that, according to an analysis, about 1,900 posts about immunization were identified on social media during nine months. It turned out that online posts referring to vaccination with negative connotations are much larger in number than the positive ones. They provoke such feelings as anger, fear and sadness in message consumers. Unfortunately, the subject is politicized and the shared posts often contain untruths. Frequently, due to negative rumors about the vaccine, parents refuse to vaccinate their children, even if they already have at home vaccinated children. At the same time, doctors would like to see stricter regulations regarding mandatory vaccination.
Petru Macovei, executive director of the Association of Independent Press, considers that social listening is extremely important because, unfortunately, the degree of information resilience of the Moldovan public is very low, which is an adverse effect of propaganda. Through the “Stop False” campaign, API has denied many falsehoods, speculations and manipulations, including during the pandemic. The health crisis that lasted for a long time and still lasts on certain aspects must be combated with well-thought-out and well-analyzed messages on the part of the authorities. At the same time, traditional media remain among those that distribute untruths.
The event was organized in the framework of the project “Development of the Disinformation Management Platform”, which is implemented by the School of Public Health Management and UNICEF.
