The who and how behind vaccine recommendations
Many people don’t know much about how vaccine recommendations are made. Unfortunately, this lack of general understanding has allowed misinformation about the process to spread, causing some to lose faith in the safety of vaccines.
The VEC has created a new video series on YouTube, called “Vaccine Policymaking — Behind the Scenes with the ACIP Consumer Rep.” Featuring Charlotte Moser, the VEC’s Co-Director and current consumer rep on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the video Shorts describe different aspects of the vaccine recommendation process.
For example, “The People of the ACIP” playlist includes seven videos that describe the different groups involved in making vaccine recommendations. One of the videos includes a description of how the public can be involved in the process.
Another set of videos focuses on the evidence-based aspect of this policymaking process. Check out the videos titled, “The Work of the Work Groups.” These videos continue to be posted regularly and will also be offered in topic-dedicated playlists as appropriate.
mRNA technology: Offering promise beyond vaccines
Although COVID-19 vaccines introduced the first licensed mRNA technology to the world, the scientific opportunities that this technology offers are vast. To explore some of the opportunities as well as to share more information about how scientists are studying this technology, the VEC has spoken with members of the Institute for RNA Innovation on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus.
Check out what we learned and saw:
- Beyond Vaccines: Promise and Progress in mRNA Technology (article), published in The Hilleman Chronicle, Nov. 25, 2024
- Behind the Scenes: A Tour of Penn’s Institute for RNA Innovation (video), published in The VMP Chronicle, Jan. 30, 2025
Fact checking is…bad?
Recently, Meta announced that it will no longer provide fact checking on Facebook. Given that some celebrated this as a “win for freedom of speech,” it means that for at least some sector of our society, being able to say and see anything holds more value than knowing that what is being said or seen is accurate. While this may be appealing to some or even appear to be a reasonable expectation for certain casual interactions, in the big picture, this leaves our society at a disadvantage in two important ways. First, it means that we are not all starting conversations from the same set of shared facts. Second, because misinformation will remain unchecked, it becomes much easier to mislead large portions of the public with false narratives.
As individuals, it means we need to approach any information with skepticism and be prepared to do our own fact checking. Three tips for strengthening our “skepticism muscles” include:
- Look laterally – Seek multiple sources on the topic to see what the similarities and differences in the reporting are. Because different articles will bring different viewpoints, you will develop a more three-dimensional view of the topic. Importantly, if you are looking at news sources, don’t limit yourself only to those that share your point of view because we also know that we live in an age of media bias.
- Mull over motive – Look into the original source of the information (not the person who gave it to you or who most recently posted it) to consider whether they have a self-interested reason for the narrative gaining traction. We generally distrust politicians because years of experience have taught us that most people in political positions make statements that are self- or party-serving, regardless of their accuracy. Yet, we don’t apply this same caution to messages on social media or, in some cases, to politicians who hold views like our own. Motive should be considered in all cases.
- Find the fact checkers – If the fact-checking is no longer presented with social media posts, such as on Facebook, that doesn’t mean the statement hasn’t been fact checked. Go to professional fact-checking sites to see what they are saying. Some examples include FactCheck.org, Snopes and PolitiFact.
The who and how behind vaccine recommendations
Many people don’t know much about how vaccine recommendations are made. Unfortunately, this lack of general understanding has allowed misinformation about the process to spread, causing some to lose faith in the safety of vaccines.
The VEC has created a new video series on YouTube, called “Vaccine Policymaking — Behind the Scenes with the ACIP Consumer Rep.” Featuring Charlotte Moser, the VEC’s Co-Director and current consumer rep on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the video Shorts describe different aspects of the vaccine recommendation process.
For example, “The People of the ACIP” playlist includes seven videos that describe the different groups involved in making vaccine recommendations. One of the videos includes a description of how the public can be involved in the process.
Another set of videos focuses on the evidence-based aspect of this policymaking process. Check out the videos titled, “The Work of the Work Groups.” These videos continue to be posted regularly and will also be offered in topic-dedicated playlists as appropriate.
mRNA technology: Offering promise beyond vaccines
Although COVID-19 vaccines introduced the first licensed mRNA technology to the world, the scientific opportunities that this technology offers are vast. To explore some of the opportunities as well as to share more information about how scientists are studying this technology, the VEC has spoken with members of the Institute for RNA Innovation on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus.
Check out what we learned and saw:
- Beyond Vaccines: Promise and Progress in mRNA Technology (article), published in The Hilleman Chronicle, Nov. 25, 2024
- Behind the Scenes: A Tour of Penn’s Institute for RNA Innovation (video), published in The VMP Chronicle, Jan. 30, 2025
Fact checking is…bad?
Recently, Meta announced that it will no longer provide fact checking on Facebook. Given that some celebrated this as a “win for freedom of speech,” it means that for at least some sector of our society, being able to say and see anything holds more value than knowing that what is being said or seen is accurate. While this may be appealing to some or even appear to be a reasonable expectation for certain casual interactions, in the big picture, this leaves our society at a disadvantage in two important ways. First, it means that we are not all starting conversations from the same set of shared facts. Second, because misinformation will remain unchecked, it becomes much easier to mislead large portions of the public with false narratives.
As individuals, it means we need to approach any information with skepticism and be prepared to do our own fact checking. Three tips for strengthening our “skepticism muscles” include:
- Look laterally – Seek multiple sources on the topic to see what the similarities and differences in the reporting are. Because different articles will bring different viewpoints, you will develop a more three-dimensional view of the topic. Importantly, if you are looking at news sources, don’t limit yourself only to those that share your point of view because we also know that we live in an age of media bias.
- Mull over motive – Look into the original source of the information (not the person who gave it to you or who most recently posted it) to consider whether they have a self-interested reason for the narrative gaining traction. We generally distrust politicians because years of experience have taught us that most people in political positions make statements that are self- or party-serving, regardless of their accuracy. Yet, we don’t apply this same caution to messages on social media or, in some cases, to politicians who hold views like our own. Motive should be considered in all cases.
- Find the fact checkers – If the fact-checking is no longer presented with social media posts, such as on Facebook, that doesn’t mean the statement hasn’t been fact checked. Go to professional fact-checking sites to see what they are saying. Some examples include FactCheck.org, Snopes and PolitiFact.