Top 5 vaccine myths: Meet the top COVID-19 anti-vax advocates

Top 5 vaccine myths: Meet the top COVID-19 anti-vax advocates

Dubai: Vaccine alarmism and outright disinformation are different faces of a Hydra-headed anti-vax creature. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, conspiracy theories have resurfaced “” from the depths of discredited yarn. And social media have become abuzz with repurposed alarmist content, with live vlogs doubting vaccine efficacy and safety. One theory suggests that vaccines are the "work of the devil". One anti-vax vlogger, "Lynn Channel" on Facebook calls the World Health Organisation (WHO) as "WHO-jas", as in Judas, the betrayer. A popular anti-vax whipping boy is Bill Gates, whom conspiracy theorists accuse of aspiring global domination through COVID-19 shots. Another version of this narrative: vaccines are no good, cannot be trusted, or that they don't work at all. A collection of such disinformation is like Hydra. They bump up vaccine hesitancy. The WHO defines anti-vaccination or anti-vax “” as a reluctance, or refusal, to be vaccinated or to have one's children vaccinated against contagious diseases “” despite the availability of vaccination services. In Greek mythology the Hydra (or Lernaean hydra) was a serpent-like monster. According to Theogony 313, the Hydra is the child of Typhon and Echidna. The Hydra had many heads. If you cut off one hydra head,