Coronavirus

U.S. Surgeon General Worried About Virus Spread, Misinformation Online

Dr. Vivek Murthy says nearly all deaths in the U.S. are now among the unvaccinated and that tech companies aren't doing enough against misinformation.

U.S. Surgeon General Worried About Virus Spread, Misinformation Online
Susan Walsh / AP
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In the U.S., the country's top doctor says he's worried about what's ahead in the country's fight against the pandemic.

Cases of the virus are up in every state and more than half the population still isn't fully vaccinated.

"I am worried about what is to come because we are seeing increasing cases among the unvaccinated in particular, " Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said. "And while, if you are vaccinated, you are very well protected against hospitalization and death, unfortunately, that is not true if you are not vaccinated. We're seeing 99.5 percent of deaths right now from COVID-19 in our country are happening among the unvaccinated."

Last week, Dr. Vivek Murthy announced an advisory to combat misinformation about the virus and the vaccine.

He says some tech companies have taken positive steps to promote accurate information but he says that's not enough and those companies need to do more.

President Biden recently said social media platforms like Facebook are "killing people" by allowing vaccine misinformation on their sites.

President Biden Says Facebook Misinformation Is Killing People
President Biden Says Facebook Misinformation Is Killing People

President Biden Says Facebook Misinformation Is Killing People

Facebook was quick to fire back, saying, "We will not be distracted by accusations which aren't supported by the facts."

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In a statement, Facebook says the White House is pointing fingers because it missed its goal of getting 70 percent of adults vaccinated by July 4th.

It notes that data shows 85 percent of Facebook users have or want to be vaccinated and says it's not the reason many Americans still haven't gotten their shot.