Ministry dealing with vaccine ‘fake news’

THE communication campaign about covid19 vaccines will have countering of fake news and misinformation as one of its main objectives. Health Ministry corporate communications manager Candice Alcantara made this statement to members of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) on Wednesday.

Responding to concerns on the issue from Minister in the Ministry of Education Lisa Morris-Julian and Government Senator Yokymma Bethlemy, Alcantara said the ministry uses various platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook to counter misinformation as soon as it appears.

She disclosed that testimonials from Regional Health Authority workers, endorsements from public figures (such as sport personalities and entertainers) and a virtual town hall meeting involving the University of the West Indies next month, are some of the initiatives planned to properly educate the public about covid19 vaccines.

Health Ministry Permanent Secretary Asif Ali told PAAC members that an information technology system is being developed to monitor the distribution of the vaccines and could potentially be used to make online appointments for the vaccination.