US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy has revealed that he lost 10 family members, both in India and the US, to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He has urged Americans to get Covid-19 jabs to protect themselves from the deadly virus.
The Indian-American physician advised people to check sources before they share information with others to ensure that it is backed by credible scientific sources.
Dr Murthy said that 160 million Americans have been vaccinated so far.
“Millions of Americans are still not protected against Covid-19, and we are seeing more infections among those who are unvaccinated. It's painful for me to know that nearly every death we are seeing now from Covid-19 could have been prevented," he said.
On a personal note, he added: "I say that as someone who has lost 10 family members to Covid-19 and who wishes each and every day that they had had the opportunity to get vaccinated. I see that also as a concerned father of two young children who aren't yet eligible for the vaccine, but I know that our kids are depending on all of us to get vaccinated to shield them from this virus."
"Every week, I talk to doctors and nurses across the country who are burning out as they care for more and more patients with Covid-19 who never got vaccinated, all too often because they were misled by misinformation."
Dr Murthy asked everyone to confront misinformation as they have the 'power and the responsibility to make a difference', adding that many lives are depending on it.
He said: “As we say in the advisory, if you're not sure, don't share. Second, we're asking health organisations to proactively address misinformation with their patients. Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics is announcing an educational campaign to help parents navigate online health information. I'm encouraged to see this commitment. And again, this is just the beginning,”
He revealed that the administration is working with technology companies to operate with greater transparency and accountability to improve health information literacy.
“We're asking them to monitor misinformation more closely. We're asking them to consistently take action against misinformation super spreaders on their platforms,” he said.
The US has the highest coronavirus case tally in the world at more than 33,974,200 and the highest death toll at over 608,300. Around 48.5 per cent of Americans are vaccinated.
However, the US has missed benchmarks set by the Biden administration. The country failed to meet the goal of having 70 per cent of adult Americans with at least one shot by July 4.
