Promoting Public Health
Through Education & Support

MESF is dedicated to improving the public health by providing accurate, credible health information about current health issues and will provide information and resources to help the public make informed decisions about their health and health care.

Fake news about health and medicine often follows a similar trajectory as fake news about politics. Some of it is for financial gain, some is intended to wreak havoc in the public discourse, some is spread by people who might genuinely believe it.

Vaccines and Medical Misinformation

MESF is committed to helping the public understand the safety and importance of vaccines and overcome vaccine hesitancy  On social media, misinformation articles about vaccines got 6X more clicks than straight news and 63.6% of users were unlikely to fact-check what they see on the internet.

RSV and You

Respiratory syncytial (pronounced sin-SISH-uhl) virus, or RSV, is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious for some, especially children.

Opioid Epidemic

Opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, morphine, and many others.  Illicit fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid that is being mixed into heroin, cocaine, and other street drugs.