Some days I wonder what I am doing writing so much and sharing so much content online. Especially when I get angry responses from people with extreme beliefs, but I was so happy to connect with Dr. Perri Klass who sees the big picture and why pediatricians need to be on social media to fight misinformation.
Dr. Klass recently wrote a book “a good time to be born” which shares the recent history of all the many small steps public health has taken towards improving child mortality. Clean water, antibiotics, vaccinations, incubators and so many other interventions have revolutionized the medical care of children. It’s great and I interviewed her on Facebook about it (also on my IGTV).
And now with social media and the rapid dissemination of information, Pediatricians have another duty which is to help parents filter the good from the bad in the avalanche of information out there.
This is at the heart of why I started my account – my friends would say “I have read so much about this, what’s the real bottom line” because we don’t know which sources to trust. So now with coronavirus, we need this vetting and clarity more urgently than ever.
Bleaching produce, wiping down mail, using a breathe test to diagnose COVID – all fear lingering misinformation. But in some ways just as dangerous and pernicious the misinformation in the other direction that “children can’t get it” or “it’s just the flu”.
