Cell phone restrictions in schools spark debate about youth mental health
Mental healthPlus, popular social media posts on Reddit call attention to ADHD stigma....
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Harm reduction strategies receive pushback
OpioidsIn recent trending conversations, some claim people who use drugs “don’t deserve help.”...
Lawsuits and bad studies recycle COVID-19 vaccine myths
The Infodemiology BriefOld myths rarely die in anti-vaccine conversations—they’re simply recycled. Two recent papers resurfaced discredited claims about COVID-19 vaccine safety, sparking days of contentious online discussions. Meanwhile, a second state official has launched a lawsuit against Pfizer, following the Texas attorney general’s anti-vaccine playbook. The lawsuit, like the...
Social media posts draw attention to mental health services for BIPOC and women
Mental healthJuly is Minority Mental Health Month, also known as BIPOC Mental Health Month. In the past week, several social media posts and blog posts called attention to the barriers to mental health care that BIPOC face and shared therapy resources specifically for BIPOC. On July 8, several social media posts...
Study finding lead in tampons incites panic online
Reproductive healthA recent study found that tampons from popular brands in the U.S. contain arsenic, lead, and other toxic substances. The researchers wrote, "Tampon use is a potential source of metal exposure…Our findings point towards the need for regulations requiring the testing of metals in tampons by manufacturers....
Popular social media posts generate conversation about fentanyl
OpioidsA recent Instagram post and a Reddit thread have sparked online conversation about fentanyl. On July 3, the CDC shared an image on Instagram showing the difference between a positive and negative result on a fentanyl test strip. The post received 3,269 likes as of July 11. In the...
Social media users celebrate Tennessee woman’s win of a settlement for refusing a COVID-19 vaccine
SouthLast week, a Tennessee woman who had been fired from Blue Cross Blue Shield for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine won a $700,000 settlement. Within a day, news of the settlement spread across multiple news outlets and social media platforms. Some social media users called the woman a...
Another human bird flu case generates conversation about potential bird flu vaccines
WestOn July 3, a Colorado dairy farm worker became the fourth person to contract H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. this year. The person only reported eye symptoms and has fully recovered after treatment. The CDC reported that the risk to humans remains low and that farm workers who...
Wisconsin whooping cough guidance causes controversy
MidwestLast week, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (WDHS) announced that as of July 1, the state had 126 cases of whooping cough—more than double the number of cases last year—and recommended that residents stay up to date on whooping cough vaccines. WDHS shared its recommendations on social...
Study claims that COVID-19 vaccines reduce life expectancy
NationalVaccine opponents are circulating a new Italian study that claims to have found a decrease in life expectancy following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The study assessed death from any cause in people who were unvaccinated and those who had received one or more vaccine doses, finding that a higher number of...