- As misinformation runs rampant, healthcare workers are using TikTok to share accurate COVID-19 information.
- Insider got experts to vet our selection of healthcare workers’ videos.
- The videos cover vaccine news, debunking COVID-19 myths, and firsthand accounts of getting vaccinated.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
As COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe, so does misinformation. Early on, falsehoods about how to quell COVID-19 emerged on Facebook. Almost a year later, anti-vaxxers are making unsubstantiated claims about COVID-19 vaccines.
The information ecosystem is fragmented, with people running to different sources for information – some of which may be unreliable.
“You can live in your own information echo chamber where masks are bad and hydroxychloroquine is good. And that’s really dangerous,” Lindsey Leininger, a clinical professor at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, told Insider.
But healthcare workers are spreading accurate information, too – taking up space on TikTok – an increasingly popular social media app.
Insider asked experts to vet 10 popular healthcare workers’ TikTok accounts. Three of the accounts featured videos that lacked context and specificity. The remaining seven are doctor-approved videos covering vaccine news, debunking myths, or give firsthand accounts of their own COVID-19 symptoms.
Public health and infectious disease experts say these videos are not only useful, but a fun way to stay on top of the news. "I love these videos," Leininger said.
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, agreed. "I love them and think these are entertaining, informative, short pieces where members of the public try to interpret difficult data for a wide audience," she wrote in an email.
Here are the expert-vetted TikTok accounts to follow:
Morgan McSweeney (dr.noc)
Morgan McSweeney, a scientist who studies COVID-19, has nearly a half-million followers with videos getting around hundreds of thousands of views. While TikTok videos are limited to 60 seconds, McSweeney manages to pack in a lot of information about vaccine news, such as the AstraZeneca trial being halted in South Africa.
Gandhi said his fast-talking narration allowed him to provide context around that news announcement. "It also explains that it is easy to change the DNA in the AstraZeneca vaccine to adapt to the variants and so provides useful, calming information to the audience."
Christina Kim (christinaaaaaaanp)
Christina Kim, a nurse practitioner based in Massachusetts, infuses flair, popular music, and visuals into her videos. The videos include public health messages, like reminding people not to congregate for Super Bowl Sunday, or debunks COVID-19 myths. In the video above, she challenges the popular myth that only 6% of COVID-19 deaths were caused by the virus.
"I thought it was delightful," said Leininger, when talking about how Kim clarified that myth.
Dr. Austin Chiang (austinchiangmd)
Dr. Austin Chiang, a gastroenterologist at Jefferson Health, has garnered over 380,000 followers and 13.2 million likes. Chiang makes important announcements about vaccine news - all while lip-synching and dancing to upbeat music. His engaging, entertaining personality spices up news that some people might otherwise find boring.
"It's a very funny way to tout excitement about the vaccines," Gandhi said about the video.
Dr. Christian Assad-Kottner (drkkwatenglish)
Other healthcare workers provide firsthand accounts about their own COVID-19 symptoms. Dr. Christian Assad-Kottner, a cardiologist based in Texas, answered a TikTok user's question about if uncommon COVID-19 symptoms would deter people from getting tested, which would lead to unknowingly spreading the virus. In that video, he talked about his own unusual symptoms and encouraged people to get tested even if they have uncommon symptoms, especially if they plan on seeing others.
Leininger particularly liked this video: "You could tell he was kind of coming authentically at this, which I appreciated."
Dr. Amiirah Aujnarain (doctoramiirah)
Dr. Amiirah Aujnarain, a pediatrician based in Toronto, uses pithy comments and floating texts to describe why merely surviving COVID-19 doesn't mean you're off the hook, as some people have long-term symptoms.
Another video concisely makes a case about why people should take vaccines. While there are no data on the long-term effects of vaccines, there's evidence showing the long-term effects of COVID-19, like heart disease and blood abnormalities.
Anna Blakney (anna.blakney)
Anna Blakney, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, regularly makes posts about vaccine news with colorful text blocks outlining the video's subject. In the video above, Blakney uses data to explain that deaths in the elderly population in Norway were not caused by the vaccine.
Gandhi said the video was "compelling," and added: "The music was a nice touch."
Dr. Erica Wigdor (doctordiaries)
Dr. Erica Wigdor, an internal medicine specialist based in Florida, incorporates upbeat music and answers user's questions.
In the video above, Wigdor documents her experience getting fully vaccinated by sharing footage of her being led to the vaccination site, getting the injection, and waiting for 15 minutes after inoculation.
Wigdor also recommends getting vaccinated in your non-dominant arm because your arm may be sore for a few days.