Question: A friend sent me this rant on COVID mRNA vaccines yesterday afternoon. This person is one of the people who think the vaccine will change your DNA. I wondered how you would respond to her. I’m just a bit speechless!

Answer: This is such a challenging issue that impacts all of us in this pandemic age of misinformation and social media amplification of anti-vaccination messages.  I’m not sharing the conspiracy here because sadly, anytime you repeat anti-vaccination information, you risk inadvertently reinforcing the misinformation you’re trying to correct.  I suppose that’s my first piece of advice.  Don’t repeat the conspiracy.  The next thing you need to consider is this:

Is it worth your time and effort to engage?  If the person or group you are engaging with is a vocal vaccine denier, it’s probably not worth your time or effort to engage.  They are unlikely to change their mind (Figure 1). That said, most people who express vaccine hesitancy are not in that denier category and you’re more likely to change their mind with ongoing dialogue.  And this brings me to my next point…

We need to be proactively sharing pro-vaccination information and messages.  The more readily available true information and personal stories are, the less likely a person is to get pulled into misinformation.  We need to be sharing truthful vaccine messages and stories often, vocally, and in diverse communities (online and offline) in order to prevent misinformation from sticking.  If we don’t, we risk the still small anti-vaccination movement overwhelming pro-vaccination voices online and beyond.  (Reminder, Q&A of 12/5 describes how mRNA vaccines work.)  Clearly with your friend, we’ve already missed the boat on proactively sharing pro-vaccine information.  Now we come to the crux of your question:  

How do we respond to vaccine misinformation?  WHO offers an exceptionally easy-to-read and informative Best Practice Guidance to Respond to Vaccine Deniers in Public.  If you’re on a public social media feed or the like, I think the advice works there too.  Here’s the synthesis: 1. Remember the general public is your target audience, not the vocal vaccine denier; 2. Aim to correct the content AND unmask the techniques that the vocal vaccine denier is using; 3. Remember the goal is to make the public audience more resilient against anti-vaccine statements and stories; support the people expressing vaccine hesitancy in their vaccine acceptance decision.  When it comes to responding, follow these key steps:

• Have three key messages ready.  For example: You can help stop the pandemic by getting a COVID-19 vaccine.  COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.  These vaccines cannot give you any disease. 
• Keep your three messages simple.
• Repeat your three messages as often as possible.
• Stick to the facts and do not repeat any anti-vaccination messages.
• Emphasize the positive (e.g. high safety and low risk).
• Use inclusive terms (e.g. as a member of the community; as a parent…).
• Do not question personal motivation.
• Tell the truth.  If you don’t know, don’t pretend to know.
• Communicate what has been achieved/what is known and what is still to be achieved/still unknown.
• Avoid humor.
• Underline scientific consensus.
• Emphasize social benefits.

What about responding one-on-one? Here, you want to foster open dialogue.  Ask open-ended questions. Be respectful.  Do not question personal motivations.  Share personal stories.  Do not get into much of a facts-based argument.  This article published in The Atlantic back in October offers more details on these suggestions plus a few more.  And this handbook, The Debunking Handbook, also includes a wealth of research, tools, and processes.

Figure 1. Probability to change mind to vaccine acceptance (from WHO)