Don’t Read the Comments: Discourse About COVID-19 Vaccines in a State Health Department's Social Media Comments

• Published in: Journal of technical writing and communication Vol. 55; no. 4; pp. 362 - 384
• Main Authors: Kenzie, Daniel, Anderson, Murphy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.10.2025; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: COVID-19; Departments; Social Media; COVID-19; pro-vaccination; social media; online comments; anti-vaccination; vaccination

As the United States rolled out COVID-19 vaccinations, state health departments attempted to communicate quickly evolving information about vaccines amid political conflict and misinformation. In October 2021, one state health department shut off comments for their social media to deplatform misinfo...