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As billionaire Elon Musk nears a potential deal to buy Twitter Inc., a World Health Organization official warned of the dangers of health and vaccine misinformation on social media. Misinformation costs lives, Mike Ryan, executive director of the health emergencies program at the WHO, said Tuesday in response to a reporter’s question regarding the offer from Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, to buy Twitter for about $44 billion. (Hoffman and Hernanz Lizarraga, 4/26)

Leveraging data from Twitter, Facebook, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we investigate how online misinformation is associated with vaccination rates and levels of vaccine hesitancy across the U.S. (Pierri et al, 4/26)

Online misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is associated with low vaccination rates in parts of the U.S., according to a paper published April 26 by IU’s Observatory on Social Media researchers and the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy. (Meador, 4/26)

Mayor Jim Kenney’s long-delayed policy requiring unionized city workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is now set to take effect May 31. But it could be delayed again because the city has not yet reached an agreement over the policy with the Philadelphia firefighters union. Kenney announced the vaccine requirement in November, and it was initially supposed to take effect Jan. 14. But the administration has struggled to quickly reach agreements over its implementation with the four major municipal unions, which represent about 24,000 city workers. (Collins Walsh, 4/26)

A seafood processing plant has been fined $56,000 in connection with a 2021 COVID outbreak that left one employee dead. The Department of Labor and Industries announced the fine against Shining Ocean Inc. on Monday, Northwest News Network reported. According to the agency, a 65-year old employee of the Sumner company died after contracting COVID at a company staff meeting on November 4, 2021. During the meeting, the investigation found most of the 23 people in attendance did not wear masks. Sixteen workers contracted COVID, including the man who later died. (4/26)

The D.C. region’s disability community is urging Metro to recommend mask usage aboard buses and trains and at stations, after the transit agency — and others across the country — made face coverings optional following a court ruling that voided a federal mask mandate for public transportation. Metro’s Accessibility Advisory Committee passed a motion to be presented to Metro’s board on Thursday urging the transit agency to continue following recommendations by health experts on masking. They cite concerns about virus spread among vulnerable passengers, particularly seniors and people with disabilities. (Lazo, 4/26)

Eggs. Many, many eggs. That is what greeted a trucker convoy protesting outside the home of a Democratic state lawmaker in Oakland, Calif., last week. It turns out that residents of the East Bay neighborhood, including the younger ones, were not happy with the hulking rigs disrupting their lives. (Bella, 4/26)

It seems that every Bay Area transit rider has a story of hopping on BART or Caltrain only to be hit by a wave of unpleasant smells. So with mask mandates on the outs, many passengers may be wondering: If BART can’t filter out the mystery scent from a few seats away, how can the system keep me safe from an unmasked passenger emitting the COVID-19 virus? There is some good news, experts say. Your BART car might smell, but the air-filtration systems that reduce COVID-19 transmission are stronger than what’s typically at work in your home, office or the restaurant where you just had lunch. (Kamisher, 4/26)