Polio Pulse

Polio Pulse provides social listening insights to support GPEI’s polio interventions on disinformation, crisis communication, and strategic communication. Data is monitored from polio-endemic and outbreak countries and geographies classified by GPEI, covering 12 major languages spoken in these regions. The platform is managed by the UNICEF Digital Community Engagement (DCE) team.

Medium Risk

Old myths circulate ahead of Democratic Republic of Congo’s polio vaccine campaign

Geography
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Themes
Conspiracy theories
Necessity
Safety and side effects

Analysis

The DRC launched a five-day polio vaccination campaign on June 26. Responses to the campaign repeated several common conspiracies and myths about polio and polio vaccines. Several posts promoted the false claim that polio is caused by the pesticide DDT, while others called polio vaccines “poison.” 

Recommendations

The myth that polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases are caused by environmental factors has been used to argue against the use of vaccines for decades. Health communicators may explain that polio is caused by poliovirus, not by exposure to pesticides or any other chemicals. Messaging may emphasize that polio vaccines are extremely safe, rigorously tested, and the only way to prevent polio.