RESUMEN

The recent health crises (e.g., COVID-19, Ebola and Monkeypox) have pointed out huge disparities in vaccine accessibility across the world. Nonetheless, certain governments have instituted vaccine passport policies (VPPs) to manage public health, raising mixed concerns from the public. Focusing on COVID-19 outbreak as an example, this review and commentary article utilises an institutional theory perspective to uncover the factors contributing to the global vaccine divide. We also explore the wider impact of VPPs to determine whether such tools promote freedom or social exclusion. Our insights shed light on a controversial and increasingly divisive policy with an international dimension and institutional implications. For instance, while some argue that VPPs may be relatively better than the blunt instrument of lockdowns, VPPs also implicate access and discrimination concerns. Given the various reasons for global vaccine disparities, a hybrid policy that combines vaccine passports with other public health practices (e.g., rapid lateral flow/affordable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and good hygiene) may be more viable. Furthermore, while VPPs may not be desirable and acceptable domestically, they may be inevitable for international travel.

Asunto(s)

Vacunas contra la COVID-19 , COVID-19 , Humanos , COVID-19/epidemiología , COVID-19/prevención & control , Control de Enfermedades Transmisibles , Salud Pública , Política de Salud

RESUMEN

This study explores the factors that influence the dissemination process of and public susceptibility to fake news amidst COVID-19. By adopting a qualitative approach that draws on 21 interviews with social media users from the standpoint of source credibility and construal level theories, our findings highlight motives of news sharers, platform features, and source credibility/relatedness as major factors influencing the dissemination of and public susceptibility to fake news. The paper further argues that public susceptibility to fake news can be mitigated by building an integrated approach that combines a tripartite strategy from an individual, institutional and platform level. For example, educating the public on digital resilience and enhancing awareness around source credibility can help individuals and institutions reflect on news authenticity and report fake news where possible. This study contributes to fake news literature by integrating concepts from information management, consumer behaviour, influencer marketing and mindfulness to propose a model to help authorities identify and understand the key factors that influence susceptibility to fake news during a public crisis such as COVID-19.

RESUMEN

Fake news (FN) on social media (SM) rose to prominence in 2016 during the United States of America presidential election, leading people to question science, true news (TN), and societal norms. FN is increasingly affecting societal values, changing opinions on critical issues and topics as well as redefining facts, truths, and beliefs. To understand the degree to which FN has changed society and the meaning of FN, this study proposes a novel conceptual framework derived from the literature on FN, SM, and societal acceptance theory. The conceptual framework is developed into a meta-framework that analyzes survey data from 356 respondents. This study explored fuzzy set-theoretic comparative analysis; the outcomes of this research suggest that societies are split on differentiating TN from FN. The results also show splits in societal values. Overall, this study provides a new perspective on how FN on SM is disintegrating societies and replacing TN with FN.

RESUMEN

This study adopts a public value perspective to examine the eHealth services deployed by national and regional governments to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, including symptoms checkers, information portals and contact-tracing applications. We analyse 50 cases of eHealth applications adopted in 25 European Economic Area (EEA) and outline how these systems and technologies map against four dimensions of public value: user orientation, participation, legality and equity. Our findings reveal that the public value of the eHealth applications adopted in the context of the current pandemic is affected by both endogenous and exogenous factors that undermine their ability to improve the quality of healthcare services and social wellbeing. We conclude by suggesting areas for further research to address such factors and the trade-offs emerging between different dimensions of public value.

RESUMEN

Several countries in Africa have either deployed or considering using digital contact-tracing (DCT) as part of their Covid-19 containment strategy, amidst calls for the use of technology to improve the efficiency of traditional contact-tracing. We discuss some of the complexities entailed in using DCT in Africa. Adopting a socio-technical perspective, we argue that if DCT design and deployment are not well thought out, it can lead to unintended consequences, particularly in a continent like Africa with disproportionate levels of digital divides and other structural inequalities. We suggest that any adoption of DCT by African countries must take account of their compatibility with local resources, values, social structure, and domestic political factors. Accordingly, we propose a process of translation whereby DCT adaptation is made to accommodate the unique institutional and technological characteristics of African countries by leveraging local practices learned from previous pandemics like Ebola to develop a blended epidemiological approach to (digital) contact-tracing.