As the COVID-19 vaccine inches closer to widespread distribution, help your patrons and community find reputable and reliable information about the vaccine. If library workers stick to government and respected health organization resources, we should feel confident that we can provide high quality information to the public.
As a side note, you may want to provide the disclaimer that the library provides general information for educational purposes and that everyone’s individual situation is different so they should consult a healthcare provider for a specific medical concern.
Here are a few resources along with some helpful tutorials in spotting fake news and evaluating information found on the web.
Texas Information Sources:
General information:
- Harvard Health Letter discusses vaccine mis- and disinformation and how social media factors into its spread
- Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology: Understanding herd immunity and the COVID vaccine
- World Health Organization – Myths and misconceptions about vaccines
- Up-to-date information from the National Library of Medicine’s Medlineplus resource
- CDC Vaccine Information Statement sheet about the COVID vaccine will be listed here soon.
Evaluating information on the web: resources and tutorials
- MedlinePlus Evaluating Internet health information tutorial
- Cornell University’s Guide to spotting fake news
- University of Louisville Kentucky – Citizen Literacy tutorials
