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"Immune Boosting" in the time of COVID: selling immunity on Instagram
Darren N Wagner1, Alessandro R Marcon1, Timothy Caulfield1
1Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, Law Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H5 Canada.
Abstract:
"Immune boosting" is a trending topic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of "immune boosting" is scientifically misleading and often used to market unproven products and therapies. This paper presents an analysis of popular immune-boosting posts from Instagram. Of the sampled posts, all promoted "immune boosting" as beneficial, nearly all involved commercial interests, and many used scientific and medical rhetoric in their messaging.
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