Title: Information and misinformation about vaccines

Attributes of information and misinformation

Attributes of a scientific text (information)

- Titles that provoke interest without provoking intense emotions (e.g. anger, fear, fanatism).
- Proper use of scientific terms.
- Clear and full-detailed references to the original scientific studies, sometimes including direct links to them.
- Avoidance of stating claims or expressions that seem too far-fetched to be true.
- Avoidance of provoking intense emotions, use of emotionally neutral expressions, in general.
- The claims made are supported with scientific evidence and reasonable arguments, evan though they might seem unlikely at first.
- The text comes from trustworthy scientific or news sources.
- Proper use of language (vocabulary, grammar, and syntax).

Attributes of a pseudoscientific text (misinformation)

- A far-fetched eye-catching title.
- Logic errors - Use of arguments that are not valid (e.g. conclusions that are not drawn from logical arguments, conclusions that are drawn in non-logical ways).
- Claims or statements that cannot be explained with scientific evidence (e.g. overestimated statistical data, or personal stories that cannot be veriefied).
- Excess generalizations that are not true, or do not come from evidence. Extreme statements are common.
- Intentional or unintentional spread of fake news.
- Lack of detailed references to the original scientific studies, or just vague references to them (e.g. A medical study by an Italian University revealed that ...).
- Effort to move readers by provoking intense emotions (e.g. anger, fear).
- Appeal to ethical, religious, or patriotic issues.
- There is a benefit from citizens' disorientation (e.g. a lot of clicks on the website, influence on many people, politcal or economic benefit).
- The text comes from sites with limited trustworthness (e.g. personal websites, social media, personal blogs, or even by scientists with views that are not accepted by the scientific community).
- Linguistic errors in vocabulary, grammar, or syntax.

Text A (Evolution of vaccines)

Read the following text carefully. Try to discover attributes of it, that could help characterize it as an informative (scientific) text or as a misinformative (pseudoscientific) text.

Note down the attributes you found by answering the questions.

Text A (Evolution of vaccines)

Evolution of Vaccine Science

[…] The modern science of vaccination was developed by Louis Pasteur. Pasteur developed vaccines in the laboratory using the same agent that caused the disease, starting with chicken cholera vaccine. In 1879-1880, Pasteur used a culture of chicken bouillon to develop a chicken cholera vaccine that could be produced in a lab. Five years later, he followed this with a human rabies vaccine. […]

Throughout the twentieth century, more and more infectious diseases—ranging from influenza to rotavirus—became vaccine-preventable. These vaccines were either live attenuated, whole killed pathogens, or alternatively, so-called subunit vaccines that contained antigens (e.g., protein, polysaccharides, or conjugated) but not the rest of the pathogen. A major development happened in 1986 when the first genetically engineered vaccine—the Hepatitis B surface antigen recombinant vaccine—became available. However, until the last couple of decades, vaccines were developed using empirical approaches. More recently, in parallel with increasing availability of sequencing and bioinformatics tools, there has been an increased focus on vaccine design approaches beginning from the initial proteins and genes, and after successive not trial and error efforts in the laboratory.

Vaccine types

[…] Advances in virology, molecular biology, and immunology have created many alternatives to the traditional vaccines. Modern vaccines include nucleic acid based (mRNA, DNA), viral vectored vaccines, virus-like particles, and recombinant protein (subunit) vaccines. […] COVID-19 has brought all vaccine types to the forefront to combat the pandemic. Because of the speed of cloning and synthesis, mRNA and DNA vaccines were the first to enter the race in the United States. […]

Progress and challenges

Vaccines have yet to conquer the world’s most lethal and debilitating infections: malaria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), and HIV-1. These pathogens are difficult to tackle, as we still do not understand how to elicit the protective immunity or how to counter pathogens’ evasion mechanisms. Natural infection with these agents does not lead to protection from reinfection, and there are no immune correlates of protection to emulate with vaccines. However, promising progress is being made against these pathogens. […] For example, a subunit vaccine against Mycobacterium tuberculosis tested in Central Africa provided 54% protection in latently infected adults against active pulmonary tuberculosis disease, over 2 years of follow-up (according to a study by Van Der Meeren et al. in 2018).

Origin of the text

Akiko Iwasaki & Saad B. Omer: How and why vaccines work?, Journal «Cell», Volume183, Number 2, pages 290-295, published in 25 October 2020, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009286742031237X (adapted).

Attributes of the text

Q: Which of the following attributes of an informative text can you find in text A?
- Title that does not provoke extreme emotions.
- Proper use of scientific terms.
- Detailed references to scientific studies and sources.
- Avoidance of extreme claims and expressions.
- Avoidance of provoking emotions, neutral use of language.
- Logical explanations according to scientific arguments.
- Trustworthy origin of the text.
- Proper use of language.

Q: Which of the following attributes of a misinformative text can you find in text A?
- Far-fetched or extreme title.
- Claims and arguments that are not valid and logical errors.
- Claims that are not based to scientific evidence.
- Extreme generalizations that are not grounded in evidence.
- Feel that it refers to a 'hidden' truth that is deliverably kept secret.
- Reproduction of fake news.
- Erroneous use of scientific terms.
- Lack of detailed references to trustworthy sources.
- Appeal to ethical, patriotic, or religious affairs.
- Benefit from the deception of citizens.
- Origin from sources of doubtful trustworthiness.
- Erroneous language use.

Q: Mention 3 examples from the text that justify your decisions.

Q: How would you characterize the text?
- Scientific
- Pseudoscientific

Q: Where do you think this text comes from?
- A scientific journal of for researchers.
- A journalist text about health topics.
- A psudoscientific source.

Text B (Vaccines against cancer)

Read the following text carefully. Try to discover attributes of it, that could help characterize it as an informative (scientific) text or as a misinformative (pseudoscientific) text.

Note down the attributes you found by answering the questions.

Text B (Vaccines against cancer)

Novel vaccines against cancer

Researchers say they have successfully completed a trial of a personalised cancer vaccine that uses the same messenger-RNA technology as Covid jabs. The experimental vaccine, made by Moderna and MSD, is designed to prime the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells.  Doctors hope work such as this could lead to revolutionary new ways to fight skin, bowel and other types of cancer. […]

Other pharmaceutical companies are looking to run similar studies. But this is the first phase of randomised clinical trial to test the investigational mRNA vaccine in patients. ‘Patients taking Keytruda for advanced melanoma were less likely to die, or have the skin cancer reoccur, if they also had the jab’, Moderna and MSD said. […] More trials will be needed to check how effective the treatment might be.

Looking to the future

Moderna's chief medical officer Paul Burton said: ‘This is a significant finding. It's the first randomised-trial testing of an mRNA therapeutic in cancer patients. It's shown a 44% relative reduction in the risk of dying of cancer or having your cancer progress. That's an important finding and I think it has the potential to be a new approach in the treatment of cancer patients. […] The vaccine is very expensive to make because it is tailormade to match each patient's cancer. However, the company has not named a price for it.

Professor Alan Melcher from The Institute of Cancer Research said: ‘There's no question, this is very exciting. These results show the feasibility of making and delivering personalised vaccines to treat cancer, and that the vaccine can add benefit to current treatments. These results establish the principle that this complex technology is doable’. […] Dr Sam Godfrey from Cancer Research UK, said: ‘There is unlikely to be a single cure for cancer and we must focus on ways to tailor treatment for patients. These results are grounds for optimism that the science which helped get us out of the pandemic could add another powerful treatment option for cancer in the future’.

Origin of the text

Michel Roberts: mRNA vaccine against cancer completes pilot testing, BBC website, published in 13 December 2022, https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63959843  (adapted).

Attributes of the text

Q: Which of the following attributes of an informative text can you find in text B?
- Title that does not provoke extreme emotions.
- Proper use of scientific terms.
- Detailed references to scientific studies and sources.
- Avoidance of extreme claims and expressions.
- Avoidance of provoking emotions, neutral use of language.
- Logical explanations according to scientific arguments.
- Trustworthy origin of the text.
- Proper use of language.

Q: Which of the following attributes of a misinformative text can you find in text B?
- Far-fetched or extreme title.
- Claims and arguments that are not valid and logical errors.
- Claims that are not based to scientific evidence.
- Extreme generalizations that are not grounded in evidence.
- Feel that it refers to a 'hidden' truth that is deliverably kept secret.
- Reproduction of fake news.
- Erroneous use of scientific terms.
- Lack of detailed references to trustworthy sources.
- Appeal to ethical, patriotic, or religious affairs.
- Benefit from the deception of citizens.
- Origin from sources of doubtful trustworthiness.
- Erroneous language use.

Q: Mention 3 examples from the text that justify your decisions.

Q: How would you characterize the text?
- Scientific
- Pseudoscientific

Q: Where do you think this text comes from?
- A scientific journal of for researchers.
- A journalist text about health topics.
- A psudoscientific source.

Text C (Vaccines against cancer)

Read the following text carefully. Try to discover attributes of it, that could help characterize it as an informative (scientific) text or as a misinformative (pseudoscientific) text.

Note down the attributes you found by answering the questions.

Text C (Vaccines against COVID-19)

Vaccine adverse effects

‘Our center, VAER, has been full with over 1.4 millions of reported cases of side effects related to the COVID-19 vaccines, and more than 30,000 reported deaths. About 15,000 of these deaths come from the USA, because the VAER doesn’t accept reports of other countries that use USA vaccines. It is the very first vaccine in history that causes so many adverse effects, at least after 1990 when the VAER centered was established. VAER started to work under the surveillance of the “National Action for the Trauma of Child Vaccination”. The VAER center is unique. We instated on the establishment of a central Reporting System about Vaccine Adverse Effects, with complete clarity to the citizens, in watch everyone can report adverse effects, not restricted to doctors. […]

Pharmaceutical companies and corruption

There is a lot of corruption in the system of mass vaccinations. The system has been charted by pharmaceutical companies, because the Congress refused to hold the control of the vaccination program, and passed it to them. It is not surprising that the COVID-19 vaccine was made now, after 40 years of the failure of pharmaceutical companies to implement a mass vaccination program with success. […]

[The medical committee] is full of doctors related with universities and institutes which are funded either by the government or by pharmaceutical companies, and are somehow related to the World Health Organism. […] This country, the United States of America, has been established on the fundamental principle of personal rights which pose the limits to the State’s power. […] They, and I am mainly referring to the World Health Organization, want to have a wide transformation be done, a reconstruction, a change of focus towards a collectivist ideology, which means that people have less value than the state. What they want is more power and more money for the World Health Organization, in order to better handle the future pandemics. […]

Vaccine effectiveness

I feel, as every doctor does so, that I have a personal responsibility to understand what happens about vaccine side effects, in detail, before giving them to my patients. For that reason, it is extremely dangerous to just follow directives and attack the freedom of thought and speech. This happens because the “thinking of the masses” can bring even bigger revolutions, as known. […] The vaccines were never tested. [The head of Pfizer] admitted that they never checked them and that the 50% effectiveness was drawn after the use of statistical tricks. […] I consider that there is a decrease of about 0.7% and not 50%!’

Origin of the text

Interview of Barbara Loe Fisher toJoseph Mercola, on 10/18/2022.

Attributes of the text

Q: Which of the following attributes of an informative text can you find in text C?
- Title that does not provoke extreme emotions.
- Proper use of scientific terms.
- Detailed references to scientific studies and sources.
- Avoidance of extreme claims and expressions.
- Avoidance of provoking emotions, neutral use of language.
- Logical explanations according to scientific arguments.
- Trustworthy origin of the text.
- Proper use of language.

Q: Which of the following attributes of a misinformative text can you find in text C?
- Far-fetched or extreme title.
- Claims and arguments that are not valid and logical errors.
- Claims that are not based to scientific evidence.
- Extreme generalizations that are not grounded in evidence.
- Feel that it refers to a 'hidden' truth that is deliverably kept secret.
- Reproduction of fake news.
- Erroneous use of scientific terms.
- Lack of detailed references to trustworthy sources.
- Appeal to ethical, patriotic, or religious affairs.
- Benefit from the deception of citizens.
- Origin from sources of doubtful trustworthiness.
- Erroneous language use.

Q: Mention 3 examples from the text that justify your decisions.

Q: How would you characterize the text?
- Scientific
- Pseudoscientific

Q: Where do you think this text comes from?
- A scientific journal of for researchers.
- A journalist text about health topics.
- A psudoscientific source.

Quiz

Read the following excerpts from texts found on the Internet and try to understander whether they are informative or misinformative. Apply the criteria you have seen untill now.

Texts

Text 1

Some populations in the country are eligible for booster doses. Anyone who received a Johnson & Johnson single-shot jab can get a second dose after at least two months. People who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are eligible for a third dose after six months if they are over 65 or have an underlying condition that makes them more susceptible to severe COVID-19. People whose institutional or occupational settings put them at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus may also get a booster shot.  U.S. regulators have also recommended a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people with diseases of their immune system. This extra dose is considered part of their primary vaccination series.

Text taken from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-they-work-latest-developments-cvd (adapted).

Text 2

As of July 31, 2023, there have been more than 110,145 reports of measles-vaccine reactions, hospitalizations, injuries, and deaths following measles vaccinations made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), including 550 related deaths, 8,372 hospitalizations, and 2,134 related disabilities. Nearly 50% of those adverse events occurred in children three years old and under. As of August 1, 2023, there have been 1,355 claims filed in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) for injuries and deaths following measles vaccination, for 84 deaths and 1,271 serious injuries.

Text taken from: https://www.nvic.org/disease-vaccine/measles/quick-facts, (adapted).

Text 3

Vaccine manufacturers and administrators have liability protection, yet today almost no health condition qualifies for a medical vaccine exemption under government guidelines. Now, there is a global call by consensus science advocates for elimination of all personal belief vaccine exemptions and censorship of books and public conversations that criticize vaccine safety or government vaccine policy. There is no civil liberty more fundamentally a natural, inalienable right than exercising freedom of thought and conscience when deciding when and for what reason we are willing to risk our life or our child's life. The elimination of civil liberties, including freedom of speech, to enforce vaccination creates a slippery slope. Coercion, punishment and censorship will destroy, not instill, public trust in the integrity of medical practice and public health laws.

Text taken from: https://leaps.org/forcing-vaccination-on-every-child-undermines-civil-liberties/particle-6, (adapted).

Text 4

The short-term effectiveness of a two-dose regimen of the BioNTech/Pfizer mRNA BNT162b2 severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine was widely demonstrated. However, long term effectiveness is still unknown. By analyzing the centralized database of Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS), we assessed the correlation between time-from-vaccine and incidence of breakthrough infection between June 1 and July 27, the date of analysis. After controlling the effect of other factors, such as age, we found a significant 150% increased risk for infection for early vaccinated compared to those vaccinated later that was similar across all ages groups. This preliminary finding should prompt further investigations into long-term protection of the vaccines.

Text taken from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-26672-3, (adapted).

Text 5

Another example revealed by Die Welt involves trial participant Augusto Roux, a lawyer in Argentina. After receiving his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 shot, he experienced shortness of breath and chest pain, and passed out. Within days, he visited a hospital for his symptoms, where he tested negative for COVID-19 but a CT scan showed fluid, or pericardial effusion, in Roux’s heart.  A physician noted: ‘Adverse reaction to the coronavirus vaccine (high probability)’. Despite this connection and ongoing health problems, this adverse reaction was downplayed by Pfizer and listed as unrelated to the shots. According to Die Welt: ‘Over the next few months, Roux lost 14 kilos [30.8 pounds], he had liver problems, and his heart sometimes beat’.

Text taken from: https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/how-pfizers-trials-were-fraudulent_5110855.html, (adapted).

Text 6

As clinical trial data on vaccine efficacy against the main endpoints -symptomatic and severe disease- began to be released in November 2020 (here), researchers and regulators made clear in public statements that the vaccines’ effect on virus transmission remained unknown (here). The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began rolling out immediately after receiving emergency use authorization in the U.S. on Dec. 11, 2020 and conditional marketing authorization in the EU on Dec. 21 (here). In a summary of its vaccine assessment published on Dec. 21, 2020, the EMA states: ‘The impact of vaccination with Comirnaty on the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the community is not yet known. It is not yet known how much vaccinated people may still be able to carry and spread the virus’. (here).

Text taken from: https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-pfizer-vaccine-transmission-idUSL1N31F20E, (adapted).

Text 7

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $3.8 million to Texas Biomedical Research Institute to further develop a promising HIV vaccine candidate that stops the virus upon entry, before it begins rapidly spreading throughout the body. The vaccine, which has been patented, is a live attenuated vaccine, meaning it is based on the full genetic code of HIV, but has certain parts cut or removed so it is not harmful. Live attenuated vaccines are used for several diseases, such as smallpox and yellow fever, but have failed with HIV in the past because the virus mutated enough over decades to regain its potency.

Text taken from: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230215/Promising-HIV-vaccine-candidate-by-Texas-Biomed-stops-the-virus-upon-entry.aspx, (adapted).

Text 8

‘Today, there are 4 months completed since the Pfizer vaccine killed my daughter. No one has been arrested, no authorities have investigated my daughter’s murder, and all the politics are constantly avoiding me. Even the “good” ones’.

Post on Twitter, (adapted).

Quiz questions

Q: How would you characterize text 1?
- Informative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if the text uses neutral expressions or if it tries to provoke emotions. Check if there is a logical reasoning for the text statements.
- Misinformative text.
  Hint: Check if the text uses neutral expressions or if it tries to provoke emotions. Check if there is a logical reasoning for the text statements.

Q: How would you characterize text 2?
- Informative text.
  Hint: Check if there are mentions to extreme statistical data that try to provoke intense emotions. Check whether the writers of the text could have personal benefit.
- Misinformative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if there are mentions to extreme statistical data that try to provoke intense emotions. Check whether the writers of the text could have personal benefit.

Q: How would you characterize text 3?
- Informative text.
  Hint: Check if there is adequate support to scientific evidence, and whether appeals to patriotic, religious, or emotional affairs are made.
- Misinformative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if there is adequate support to scientific evidence, and whether appeals to patriotic, religious, or emotional affairs are made.

Q: How would you characterize text 4?
- Informative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if there are clear references to scientific sources and whether sufficient reasoning based on arguments and scientific evidence is made.
- Misinformative text.
  Hint: Check if there are clear references to scientific sources and whether sufficient reasoning based on arguments and scientific evidence is made.

Q: How would you characterize text 5?
- Informative text.
  Hint: Check if excessice claims are made, and whether the claims can be tested or not. Check if there are implicit mentions of a 'hidden truth'.
- Misinformative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if excessice claims are made, and whether the claims can be tested or not. Check if there are implicit mentions of a 'hidden truth'.

Q: How would you characterize text 6?
- Informative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if the claims are supported sufficiently, according to scientific evidence, and logical resoning. Check if detailed references to trustworthy sources are made.
- Misinformative text.
  Hint: Check if the claims are supported sufficiently, according to scientific evidence, and logical resoning. Check if detailed references to trustworthy sources are made.

Q: How would you characterize text 7?
- Informative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if scientific terms are used correctly, and whether the claims seem to be reasonable.
- Misinformative text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if scientific terms are used correctly, and whether the claims seem to be reasonable.

Q: How would you characterize text 8?
- Informatory text.
  Hint: Check if the origin of the text is trustworthy, and if the claims made can be double-checked.
- Misinformatory text. (correct)
  Hint: Check if the origin of the text is trustworthy, and if the claims made can be double-checked.

Q: Which of the texts 1-8 do you think have been taken from a scientific journal, which from science columns of the news, and which from misinformation sources?

Q: Which of the texts 1-8 do you think to be the most and the least trustworthy of all?

Contributors of the Digital Learning Object