WASHINGTON, DC, October 7, 2025 (PAHO) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) released six new guidelines designed to support healthcare workers and other professionals in identifying and responding to vaccine misinformation, a growing phenomenon that threatens to undermine confidence in immunization and jeopardize public health progress across the region.
The guides provide practical tools for key audiences, including health workers, national immunization program managers, health communicators, journalists, educators and content creators, to strengthen their ability to recognize and counter false or misleading messages about vaccines.
«Studies have shown that exposure to vaccine misinformation, even for a short period of time, can negatively influence people’s perceptions and their decision to get vaccinated,» said Daniel Salas, executive manager of the special program for comprehensive immunization at Paho. «Even people who have been vaccinated in the past can be negatively influenced by misinformation.»
The documents describe common strategies used to spread false information, such as using data without scientific evidence, appealing to strong emotions, promoting conspiracy theories, discrediting experts or institutions, and selectively using true information to make false claims appear legitimate. They also offer guidance on identifying red flags in misleading materials, including frequent spelling or grammatical errors, sensational headlines, and excessive use of capital letters or exclamation marks.
Given the vital role that healthcare workers play as the most trusted source of information about immunization, the materials include recommendations on how to respond with empathy and transparency to patients who express doubts or fears due to misinformation. Paho has also developed a customized guide for journalists, offering suggestions on how to provide balanced, evidence-based vaccination coverage while avoiding the inadvertent spread of anti-science narratives. For educators, the guides propose classroom activities to help strengthen students’ media, digital, and health literacy by encouraging them to critically evaluate the information they find on social media and other platforms.
The guidelines emphasize that combating misinformation must go hand in hand with broader efforts to build trust and increase vaccination coverage. «Human behavior is complex, and while addressing misinformation is essential, it is not a silver bullet,» Salas explained. «In areas with low coverage, we encourage countries to apply tools such as microplanning and guidance on social and behavioral drivers of vaccination to gain a deeper understanding of community perceptions, social norms and potential logistical barriers.»
Through the publication of these new guidelines, Paho aims to support countries in the Americas to strengthen vaccine confidence, reinforce national immunization programs, and maintain the region’s long-standing leadership in vaccination, one of the greatest public health achievements in the Americas.
