Who hasn't heard sinister rumors about COVID? Not just the origin of the disease, but the alleged dangers of vaccination from government control to sterilization. Business leaders need their workforce vaccinated and back in the office or in front of customers. Rumor-fueled resistance to vaccination presents a big problem.
Anthropologist Heidi Larson, heads the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Her team, which includes psychologists and data analysts, operate like detectives -- tracing the origin of rumors and developing means to combat them.
She says that rumors arise from deep anxieties and a need to blame or make sense of a frightening reality. Listen to her conversation with the Vanguard Vaccination Project's Ken Banta.