BEAUMONT, Texas — Beaumont City Council members said to fight the spread of misinformation regarding the pandemic, local officials and the Southeast Texas community will have to work together.
Misinformation continues to be a hot topic of conversation, and two Beaumont city councilmen are encouraging the Southeast Texas community to follow the facts.
With all the misinformation swirling around about COVID-19 vaccines and mask effectiveness, it is more important now than ever for elected officials to put out accurate information and for the community to trust credible sources, councilman Mike Getz said.
“I think it's important for elected officials to put out accurate information,” Getz said. “And, I know that when I say something it's something that I have verified."
Southeast Texas officials want the community to make the best decisions got their health with all the right information.
“You do have to have freedom of choice,” Getz said. “But, you also need to look at the science and look at the numbers and come to your own conclusion.”
Some of his fellow council members feel the same way.
“We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard to make sure we put valid information out there,” Albert Turner, Beaumont City councilman, said. “And we're human at the end of the day. If something goes out there, and it's misfortunate, we're human just like everybody else. Let's get the right information out there and work together to improve our community.”
We live in a digital age and many Southeast Texans go to social media to get their news and information, Turner said. Both councilmen agree that it is important for the community to utilize social media and pass along truthful and accurate information.
“We have all kinds of outlets that deliver our information that's not credible,” Turner said. “So, at some point, we have to do a better job as humans, as elected officials, as people period in general vetting the information that's being put out.”
Southeast Texas leaders said they feel a huge responsibility to their constituents to provide factual information.
“It's always accurate and helpful to actually call the source prior to putting the information out,” Turner said.
Over the last year and a half, health officials have learned many new things about the virus. The Center for Disease Control said COVID-19 is primarily spread by person-to-person transmission and not on surfaces like gas pumps as once suspected.
“The Delta variant problem that we have right now is not being driven by gas pumps," Susan Hassig, Tulane University associate professor of epidemiology, said. "Umm, it is being driven by people breathing in the the particles that have been released by other people."
Health officials are also learning more about the different variants.
“Delta is the most transmissible of the variants identified so far and is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated populations." Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director general, said.
Health officials have also proven that while several vaccines aren't recommended for women who are pregnant, infertility is not a side effect of the vaccine.
"There's no reason for us to believe at this time that the current vaccinations that are offered cause infertility," Tia Jackson-Bey, infertility specialist, said.