A few words | The new coronavirus vaccine is free for all! Who should get it first and who should you believe in the various news?

2020.1.1 Hot Topics

On December 31, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council announced that Sinopharm Group China Biological COVID-19 inactivated vaccine has been approved by the National Medical Products Administration for conditional marketing. Existing data show that the protection rate is 79.34%, achieving the unity of safety, effectiveness, accessibility, and affordability, and meeting the relevant standards of the World Health Organization and the National Medical Products Administration. Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission, said that the basic attribute of the new coronavirus vaccine is a public product, and the price will vary depending on the scale of use, but a major premise is definitely to provide it free of charge to the entire population.

What do you think of the scientific voices? Niu Xiaobian: Good news for the New Year! The COVID-19 vaccine is free for all!

Ice Houseman: Well, it is good news, but I am also worried that the free vaccine will mean that many people who are going abroad and some frontline service workers who need the vaccine will not be able to get it for the time being, while more people who are not in a hurry will have to queue up in front? After all, the number of vaccines is relatively limited now.

Editor Niu: I don’t know about that. I believe everything will be arranged properly by then.

Ice Houseman: Since it’s free, I believe they have made some preparations. But wasn’t there a rumor that it costs 200 yuan per shot, or even 500 yuan per shot?

Wang Lixing: So, we have to look at the source of information. "A doctor friend said" or "an insider said" are not reliable sources, even if they are screenshots. In the matter of epidemic prevention, the relevant national agencies are better sources of information. The source of information is the original source of information.

Niu Xiaobian: So in daily life, are the news coming from insiders unreliable?

Wang Lixing: That’s not the case. Information sources are hierarchical, and we cannot say that some information is completely unreliable. However, when there are higher-quality information sources that contradict it, we have to question those low-quality information sources.

Bing Zhainan: But we can’t possibly look for high-quality sources for everything, that would make life so tiring.

Wang Lixing: Yes, so only those important information that affects life and has conflicting statements need to be verified as much as possible. For example, if you see a screenshot of a Weibo post with a watermark in the lower right corner, you can check whether the blogger really posted this content, and then check where the blogger got the information from, and then follow the clues to find the original source of the information, that is, the source of the letter.

Editor Niu: Oh, I see.

Wang Lixing: Let me give you a question: Which of the following is a source of information?

A. I heard from a friend about a news media report.

B, screenshots of news media reports seen in Moments

C. You saw the text published in a newspaper by a news media

D. You found a written manuscript of an organization through an official website.

Niu Xiaobian: C seems very reliable, but I know that the answer must be D.

Wang Lixing: Yes, because the news media are actually just reprinting the views of some organizations or individuals. In most cases, they are just "information carriers" rather than creators.

Bing Zhainan: Hehe, then aren’t we also “porters of popular science knowledge”? We can’t be considered first-hand sources of information.

Wang Lixing: Yes and no. What is wrong is that we not only transfer knowledge, but also "translate" obscure knowledge into a language that everyone can understand. What is right is that we should give the source of our content as much as possible, that is, the original research report. It is convenient for those who have doubts, want to get to the bottom of things, and want to verify to check.

Editor Niu: Well, this is what we do as science popularizers. Today I wish you all a happy new year, peace and happiness.