Surgeon general issues warning over vaccine misinformation as White House turns up the heat on Facebook

US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned Thursday health misinformation is "a serious threat to public health," as administration officials grow increasingly concerned about misleading claims about coronavirus vaccines, leading to a confrontation with social media giant Facebook.

"I am urging all Americans to help slow the spread of health misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond," Murthy wrote in a 22-page advisory released Thursday. "Health misinformation is a serious threat to public health. It can cause confusion, sow mistrust, harm people's health, and undermine public health efforts. Limiting the spread of health misinformation is a moral and civic imperative that will require a whole-of-society effort." The stark statement from the surgeon general comes as dangerous falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines are swirling and as health experts warn of the Delta variant's increasing spread among unvaccinated Americans. Nationwide vaccination rates are dropping, while in 46 states, the rates of new Covid cases this past week are at least 10% higher than the rates of new cases the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.