Facebook will start removing posts with false vaccine claims as experts worry misinformation might discourage Americans from getting immunized

• Facebook announced Thursday it will remove fake claim about COVID-19 vaccines from the platform and on Instagram.
• Two leading vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna await approval for emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.
• Health experts warn misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines could discourage Americans from getting immunized.

Facebook will remove posts sharing false claims about COVID-19 vaccines, the company announced on Thursday.

The company will remove claims debunked by public health experts — including ones claiming COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips or that some people will get doses without their consent — from both Facebook and Instagram.

Kang-Xing Jin, head of Facebook Health, said the company will not be able to start enforcing these policies "overnight," and will continue to update claims removed based on public health guidance.

"This is another way that we are applying our policy to remove misinformation about the virus that could lead to imminent physical harm," Jin said in a blog post.

As American hospitalizations, cases, and deaths related to the coronavirus reached record levels in November, health officials are aiming to get vulnerable populations vaccinated starting this month.

Read more: How Mark Zuckerberg's competitiveness and attempts to keep Facebook politically neutral turned it into a haven for misinformation and conspiracy theories that can swing elections

Two leading vaccines — developed by pharmaceutical company Pfizer and biotech firm Moderna — await emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, which is caused by COVID-19, have spread on Facebook and other social media platforms all year. Facebook announced earlier this year it would remove fake claims about COVID-19, but reports have indicated that virus misinformation had already reached thousands of people.

Facebook has been slow to act on false information about vaccines for years as the "anti-vaxx" movement gained momentum in recent years. The American Medical Association said in 2019 that fake claims about vaccines on Facebook and other tech platforms may have had a role in disease outbreaks. The US last year reported more than 1,000 cases of measles, a vaccine-preventable disease that had been largely wiped out.

Health experts have warned misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines could discourage Americans from getting immunized. Anthony Fauci said at least 75% of the country would need to get vaccinated in order to get "close to some degree of normality."

"Refusal to be vaccinated can lead to gaps in herd immunity, and have a range of consequences," a spokesperson for the World Health Organization previously told Business Insider. "These consequences can go far beyond the health of individuals and communities and have a broader impact on society and economies as well."