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'We come back with the truth': One hospital's fight against vaccination misinformation

The 20 or so doctors and vaccination experts are alerted the posts are coming and they head to the Facebook page, armed with links and information, to work the comments section.

FORT WORTH, Texas — For Cook Children's pediatrician Dr. Diane Arnaout, discussions about vaccinations are among the most important talks she has with parents.

"I think the reason vaccines are such an emotional topic is because not only am I protecting my kid, I'm also protecting your kid when I vaccinate my child," she said.

But those talks are no longer just happening in the examining room; they're also happening on social media.

"I'm on Facebook every day, I'm on Instagram every day," Dr. Arnaout said. "It's just sort of part of my job now."

The doctor is now part of a new coalition at Cook Children's that's dedicated to correcting information in the comments section when the hospital posts vaccination stories on Facebook.

"So what will happen is that a page will get ambushed," the doctor said.

Wini King, assistant VP of the hospital's public relations department, says the hospital realized they needed the coalition when they did a Facebook Live about HPV vaccines last year and were bombarded with negative comments and what they call "misinformation."

"And so the people who had legitimate questions or who really wanted to join the conversation were not able to," King said.

So now, "when we post, we call. We prepare them," she said of the new coalition. 

The 20 or so doctors and vaccination experts are alerted the posts are coming and they head to the Facebook page, armed with links and information, to work the comments section.

A case of the measles has been confirmed in Tarrant County, which is a known hot spot for a potential outbreak. Find out what this case means for your child: http://bit.ly/2YfFwXd.

"So any time there’s a negative comment, we come back with the truth. Any time there’s misinformation, we come back with fact, and it's science-based fact," King said.

"I can tell you it works," Dr. Arnaout said. "I've had families come back in who’ve never vaccinated, who are ready to start vaccinating because of something they read on the Cook Children's Facebook page."

    

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