Analysis
A popular Indonesian social media account that frequently posts false and misleading claims about vaccines accused the media of “fooling the people” about the polio outbreak in Papua New Guinea. The user falsely claimed that the media previously declared vaccine-derived polio a “hoax,” a claim that is contradicted by decades of mainstream media coverage of vaccine-derived poliovirus cases.
Recommendations
Reports of cVDPV cases often lead to misleading claims about the safety and effectiveness of OPVs. Health communicators may explain that OPV is responsible for the elimination of polio in most of the world, including Indonesia, which has not had a wild polio case in three decades. Explaining that communities with low polio vaccination rates are at risk for cVDPV and that the best way to prevent any type of polio outbreak—whether wild polio or cVDPV—is to vaccinate children is recommended, as is emphasizing that vaccinated children are not at risk of cVDPV.