How conspiracy theories led to Covid vaccine hesitancy in the Pacific

Social media has been flooded with falsehoods about fertility, birth control and surveillance as nations struggle to administer enough doses

As Papua New Guinea grappled with a monumental outbreak of Covid-19 last month, prime minister James Marape became the first person in the country to receive a dose of the vaccine, sent in an emergency shipment from Australia.

Prior to receiving the jab he had told people he would be the vaccine's PNG guinea pig"; that if he died people didn't have to take it, but if he didn't, he hoped others would follow suit and receive the vaccination.