Misinformation linking vaccine to stillbirths condemned by Vancouver Coastal Health

Vancouver Coastal Health has taken to social media to combat grisly anti-vaccine misinformation being circulated online, with Facebook posts fuelling rumours that the COVID-19 shot is causing a dramatic increase in stillborn babies at a local hospital.

“Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is aware of rumours and disinformation spreading on social media regarding stillbirths at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) as a result of mothers having been vaccinated,” the first tweet in a thread posted Tuesday reads, adding the people posting it are not connected to the health authority or the hospital — even if they claim to be.

“This type of disinformation adds unnecessary stress to expecting parents who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, on healthcare staff who must reassure their patients, and on the healthcare system, as resources are stretched further during the ongoing pandemic response.”

Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) is aware of rumours and disinformation spreading on social media regarding stillbirths at Lions Gate Hospital (LGH) as a result of mothers having been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Thread:

— Vancouver Coastal Health (@VCHhealthcare) November 24, 2021

The health authority goes on to say vaccines are “safe and recommended for both mother and fetus,” linking to several studies that have demonstrated this.

2: This type of disinformation adds unnecessary stress to expecting parents who have received a COVID-19 vaccine, on health-care staff who must reassure their patients, and on the health-care system, as resources are stretched further during the ongoing pandemic response.

— Vancouver Coastal Health (@VCHhealthcare) November 24, 2021

Dr. Anna Wolak, a family physician in Vancouver, describes this particular instance of anti-vaccine misinformation as “quite horrifying,” and is relived Vancouver Coastal Health made a statement.

“I think what they’re trying to do is to try to squash the game of social media telephone, so to speak. This is directly from the source. We know this is not happening. Vaccines are safe in pregnancy. There is no increased risk of stillbirth and this needs to be squashed now.”

She says that in the lead-up to rolling out vaccines from younger kids, she’s noticed more and more frightening messaging directed at parents, including expectant parents.

“There’s a lot of disinformation that is deliberately being spread, targeting parents and their anxiety,” she says.

“To see that Vancouver Coastal actually had to tweet out about it shows just the extent of what is out there — and it’s just so dangerous. We are still seeing pregnant patients in the ICU. They’re sick with COVID. They’re sicker than if they were not pregnant, and the vaccination is what could have kept them out of ICU. It’s heartbreaking. It’s really hard for when physicians are caring for patients with vaccine-preventable illness and it’s even more upsetting when they’re pregnant.”

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Wolak explains that vaccination is crucial for pregnant patients, who are considered immunocompromised. Pregnant people were prioritized for immunization back in May, allowing them to get a shot before others in their age group were eligible. At that time, health officials said both Canadian and international studies have shown that one in 10 pregnant people will require hospitalization from COVID. And between 2 to 4 per cent of pregnant people will require treatment in an intensive care unit.

“We’re seeing that when pregnant patients get COVID they get sicker, faster, and its more severe,” she says.

“The vaccine has been studied. In every stage of pregnancy — from planning, to being pregnant, to after having delivered, to nursing your baby — in all those stages of pregnancy, the COVID vaccine, any COVID vaccine is safe.”

‘We’re trying to get our voice out there to try to hopefully squash the noise’

While Wolak says she hasn’t yet encountered a patient who subscribes to extreme conspiracy theories, a lot of the concerns she’s heard can be traced back to the disinformation that is swirling, both online and in real life.

“With a lot of my patients who have questions, it’s sitting down and saying, ‘What have you read? What are you concerned about? Let’s try to go through these myths together,” she explains.

Physicians and healthcare workers who are active on social media are doing what they can to try to counter online misinformation, according to Wolak. From posting vaccine selfies, to announcing their own plans to vaccinate their kids, to sharing the latest studies that prove the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, it’s become yet another part of the job during this pandemic.

“We’re trying to get our voice out there to try to hopefully squash the noise that’s out there. But it is dreadful,” she says.

“Vaccine hesitancy has actually been noted by the World Health Organisation since 2019 as one of the top 10 threats to human health. This is something that has been going on for a while, that predates COVID. But there’s something about this machinery now that’s making it 1,000 times worse than I’ve ever seen it.”

In September, Dr. Bonnie Henry pled with anyone who is pregnant and unvaccinated to get the shot as the number of hospitalizations and people in intensive care spiked.

“COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate,” she said, noting the rise in pregnant, unvaccinated patients.

“We have seen this happen particularly since May when we started to see the Delta variant transmitting more easily, and we’ve seen the tragic outcomes of that across the province.”