Background The massive, free and unrestricted exchange of information on the social media during the Covid-19 pandemic has set fertile grounds for fear, uncertainty and the rise of fake news related to the virus. This “viral” spread of fake news created an “infodemic” that threatened the compliance with public health guidelines and recommendations. Objective This study aims to describe the trust in social media platforms and the exposure to fake news about COVID-19 in Lebanon and to explore their association with vaccination intent. Methods In this cross-sectional study conducted in Lebanon during July–August, 2020, a random sample of 1052 participants selected from a mobile-phone database responded to an anonymous structured questionnaire after obtaining informed consent (response rate = 40%). The questionnaire was conducted by telephone and measured socio-demographics, sources and trust in sources of information and exposure to fake news, social media activity, perceived threat and vaccination intent. Results Results indicated that the majority of participants (82%) believed that COVID-19 is a threat and 52% had intention to vaccinate. Exposure to fake/ unverified news was high (19.7% were often and 63.8% were sometimes exposed, mainly to fake news shared through Watsapp and Facebook). Trust in certain information sources (WHO, MoPH and TV) increased while trust in others (Watsapp, Facebook) reduced vaccination intent against Covid-19. Believing in the man-made theory and the business control theory significantly reduced the likelihood of vaccination intent (Beta = 0.43; p = 0.01 and Beta = -0.29; p = 0.05) respectively. Conclusion In the context of the infodemic, understanding the role of exposure to fake news and of conspiracy believes in shaping healthy behavior is important for increasing vaccination intent and planning adequate response to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Background: Polymerase chain reaction is a well-known method for testing COVID-19 infection, however, refugee populations often face difficulties in accessing testing. Several structural and cultural challenges have hindered access of Syrian refugees to COVID-19 testing in Lebanon, including financial barriers, stigma, and low perception of vulnerability. Aims: To explore barriers to accessing COVID-19 testing by Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Methods: This qualitative study conducted 10 focus group discussions among Syrian refugees and 21 individual semi-structured interviews with healthcare workers. Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of the Lebanese International University, and the study followed the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Results: Syrian refugees in Lebanon did not consider COVID-19 testing to be important. Despite the availability of free testing services, psychological, cultural, environmental, and financial barriers hindered them from getting tested. Some of them relied on consultation with pharmacists, who were easy to access and provided symptomatic treatment without the need to test for COVID-19. Fear of stigma, deportation, and isolation were common cultural barriers. Testing was considered unnecessary because of the perception of low disease severity and an attitude of negligence towards preventive practices. The harsh economic and living conditions were of greater concern to the refugees. Conclusion: Findings from this study adds to existing literature regarding the social and cultural barriers to COVID-19 testing among Syrian refugees and should be considered when tailoring health promotion campaigns to halt the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

: In Lebanon, with COVID-19 cases escalating and national efforts exhausted in the containment of the pandemic, calls were made for increased awareness, scientific literacy, and the debunking of false information. This article sheds the light on the positive role that a private University can play in spreading scientifically-authenticated, health-related, awareness through the community. The Lebanese International University (LIU) has 9 campuses distributed across all Lebanese Governorates with an extensive communications platform that takes advantage of LIU’s website, University Management System, several Facebook pages with thousands of followers, and many WhatsApp groups. LIU has over 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students, in addition to a little over a thousand faculty and staff members. The University capitalized on this extensive network to play a positive role in delivering authenticated health-related information to the University’s greater community. A health committee, comprised of multidisciplinary educators mostly from the field of medicine and health sciences, was established to act as a health advisory panel to the University Council and to raise awareness among the University’s larger community. An extensive health awareness campaign was launched through activities and the sharing of material of different formats aimed at providing accurate information on infection prevention, and disseminating authentic and accurate healthrelated guidelines and recommendations during the pandemic. This compendium aims to summarize the role of the health committee in meeting the various challenges created by the emergence of COVID-19 in our community, and highlights its influence and future perspectives.