A historically challenging problem presents ‘an urgent task for the nursing profession.’

“Every epidemic of the past has produced improbable facts, confusing rumors, and conspiracy theories,” observed Nancy Tomes, PhD, a history professor at Stony Brook University. She was presenting a lecture at an online meeting of the New York Academy of Medicine in late October. Tomes examined the way misinformation and disinformation during the current pandemic echoes that of past public health crises, from the 1665 outbreak of the bubonic plague in London to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

“Misinformation, epidemics, and media revolutions have historically gone hand in hand,” she pointed out, adding:

“One of the most distressing aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the damage done by the easy circulation of false and misleading information.”

Social media as a vector for the spread of misinformation.

The widespread dissemination of such information during the current crisis has been facilitated by the near-omnipresence of social media. This month’s Ethical Issues column in AJN focuses on the way some nurses are engaging in misinformation about COVID on social media (and other) platforms. In “Nurses Spreading Misinformation” (free until January 15), author Pamela Grace, PhD, RN, FAAN, argues that immediate action and education are needed.

“Correcting unethical behavior on social media is an urgent […]

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(This post is a reshare of AJN‘s January issue editorial; to browse the rest of the issue, visit our website, ajnonline.)

Last January, our cover was an artist’s rendering of the planet Earth as a SARS-CoV-2 virus molecule. In my accompanying editorial, I wrote that it was “unfathomable that over 275,000 Americans have died from COVID-19” and that the number would likely increase. Now here we are, a year later, with another COVID-19 cover. The white flags in the cover photo, installed on the National Mall in Washington, DC, by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, represent each person who has died from the virus. Sadly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of November 28 this number had reached 776,070—well over double last year’s tally. The flags offer a stark visual image of the magnitude of our loss.

What’s especially startling is that the United States leads all countries in both deaths and confirmed cases. The World Health Organization reports that, as of November 29, U.S. confirmed COVID-19 cases totaled 47,837,599; India was second with 34,580,832. Globally, 5,200,267 people have died from the disease. It’s disheartening that the United States has lost so many people and could lose so many more, given that vaccines are available.

There was hope that the two vaccines that received […]