UN Launches “Team Halo” to Tackle Misinformation Around COVID-19 Vaccines

The United Nations (UN) have launched “Team Halo” initiative in order to tackle the misinformation  around the COVID-19 vaccine. The initiative was launched along with “the Vaccine Confidence Project” of University of London. Under the project, more than 100 scientists have come together from different parts of the world

Team Halo Initiative

Team Halo Initiative has been launched with an aims to tackle the misinformation on safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.  Scientists will create science based social-media friendly videos on COVID-19 vaccine based on their personal experiences. The Team Halo would also act as a communication platform for the scientists across the world who are working on COVID-19 vaccines.

How India is supporting the initiative?

Team Halo initiative is being participated by over 22 Indian scientists. These scientists come from the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Institute of Medical Science and SRM Research Institute.

Other Initiatives by UN for COVID-19

The United Nations have launched several initiatives to fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the initiatives include:

1. Food Coalition

This Food Coalition was launched by the United Nations in November 2020.  This alliance was launched to prevent the COVID-19 food crisis.  It was initially proposed by Italy but the initiative is led by Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO). The alliance  works to increase the resilience of agricultural food system.

2. COVID-19 Solidarity Response Funds

The COVID-19 Solidarity Response Funds was established by the United Nations to financially support the World Health Organization. The fund also help other countries to fight against COVID-19. Any individual, private enterprise, government institutions can  contribute to the fund. It is mainly supported by Facebook and Google at the backend.

3. COVID-19 Law Labs

This portal was launched by the UN to fight COVID-19.  It hosts all legal steps adopted by its member countries to fight the COVID-19. This portal will act as a platform for the countries to share and learn the access to the health services and protect the citizens.