Science’s Growing Credibility Gap
Dear Editor,
The surgeon general issued a warning about vaccine misinformation the same day the WHO’s COVID-19 origin study was retracted. This warning is a ham-handed response that serves as fodder for continuing politicization and greater distrust. The surgeon general’s goal should be to increase our nation’s health, not to vaccinate for the sake of vaccinating. Safety concerns must be transparently answered with evidence. Discounting concerns as “disinformation” increases distrust.
The scientific community failed to educate during COVID. Governors engaged in an arms race of increasingly strict unscientific isolation policies. Science knew outside was safer than inside; parks were forbidden. Social interaction is important for mental health; we were isolated until continually changing goals were reached. “Health policies” were unequally enforced for political gain. Health data was manipulated in New York. Public health workers relied on this manipulated data to maximize policy effectiveness. Prior to the whistleblower, questioning NY’s governor was labeled a health threat. Meanwhile, Florida was heavily criticized for scientifically allowing social interactions and outside events. More questioning was needed, not less.
The surgeon general referenced a research article growing in popularity among mainstream media on social media “disinformation.” The scientific process demands continuous rigorous challenge/questioning. One research paper does not make a scientific fact. Journalist “fact checkers” incorrectly label opinions and perspectives as fake despite being neither fact nor fiction. Did these researchers define “truth” based on similar biases? Scientific review articles claim to have confirmed this study’s results using their own experiments. Regardless of the articles content, or substance, the publisher/audience ultimately defined lies and truth. Breitbart articles were labeled “false” while New York Times articles were labeled “true.” Those who believe conservatives are either liars or uneducated may not question these results – conformation bias.
Several prestigious medical organizations crossed lanes to promote unscientific political and social ideologies. As a result, legitimate scientific concerns were attacked to promote political agendas. This undermines healthcare credibility. For month’s mainstream media, including the “model of truth” New York Times, leveraged the now discredited WHO investigation to label COVID origin questions as false racist propaganda. What other articles labeled by “researchers” as “fake” today will be proven “fact” tomorrow? Did candidate Biden work with Facebook to “correct misinformation?”
COVID is not polio, smallpox or measles. Currently, we do not know if vaccine benefits out way disease risks. The answer to opposition’s “fake news” is not supporter’s “fake news.”
Alan Burke
What will it take to convince you, personally, to get the vaccine if you haven’t already?
Eagerly awaiting your reply.
Very disappointed in you Alan. Promoting distrust in science because you lack the understanding or open mindedness?
The origin of the virus remains unknown. Good on science for being open to admitting mistakes when it ruled out an accidental release theory too soon. To be clear, most in the science community still believe the virus to most likely be of natural origin but they DON’T KNOW yet as it will take years to confirm with certainty. Anyone promoting the idea that they are certain that the origin was a China lab is speculating for political purposes.
The scientific community knowns what it knows based on information available at a particular point in time. As more information comes available (such as study replications etc….) they can and often change their point of views. But decisions during COVID had to be made in the face of a great deal of uncertainty as peoples lives were at stake. To look back using what we know today to judge decisions made in the past when far less was known is how certain types (you now included) to cast doubt on science and it’s value.
The spreading of false information is horrible and certainly not the blame of science. The media is doing it’s best to fight back the massive volume of misinformation and sure they make some mistakes but what do we do? Case in point. mRNA vaccines are NOT new untested science. The method for creating this kind of vaccine has been use for at least 5 other vaccines (Ebola for example). It just had not yet been used on a vaccine distributed near the scale of the Covid vaccine.
People like YOU are the problem. NOT mainstream or social media. Trust the scientists. If you have concerns speak to your doctor about what is right for you! Not some fool with an opinion on the internet like Alan and myself.
Bottom line is this. Every individual must decide for themselves what to do with respect to their personal medical situation. The same Gov. “experts that demand quarantine, masking, social distancing, and vaccination of all Americans are dispersing hundreds of thousands of migrants throughout the U.S. from all over the world without any testing or vaccination, and detaining many thousands more in facilities rife with squalor along the Southern border while maintaining a blackout to the public and claiming that the border is secure. Perpetuation of the virus and variants and mandates is of questionable advantage to the current admin. as relates to a number of proposals of legislation at issue to include HR 1, infrastructure, border security, massive spending, and tax increases ,not to mention resulting inflation. Plenty of reason for distrust cultivated by the useful idiots who claim to follow the science while contradicting themselves on a daily basis.
Chris, I’m glad you self proclaimed being a fool. Saved me a lot of typing…
“The scientific community knowns what it knows based on information available at a particular point in time.”
So the reality is that the scientific community DOESN’T know what it knows. It only knows what it THINKS it knows, and it isn’t always right. To put it another way, it thinks it knows what it knows, but it doesn’t.
Likely the most ignorant thing I have ever read Wayne. The idea of science is that they specifically know what they don’t know…hence they design studies to address those topics. Those studies take time. So in the mean time they share what they DO know so leaders can make the best possible decisions as possible. By your thinking, everyone should just ignore what is known until 100% of questions are answered…..kinda like Republican strategy with climate change. Moronic and sadly deadly attitude.
I’m sorry you’ve read so little and understood even less. You’ve missed a lot.
Wayne, Chris is a lying two bit snake belly liberal. Need I say more? Okay then, Chris thinks he knows what nobody else knows when in reality Chris don’t know anything. But if a scientist, let’s say one named Anthony, So Anthony tells the world on the tv of course, the best way to protect others is to place a garbage bag over your head and place zip ties over the bag in the neck region, we wouldn’t have to read the ridiculous non sense this libtard posts ever again. Long story short, Chris is an idiot!
OOOOO, my poor poor feelings. How will I ever survive?
For the record, I am an ex republican that left the party after Trumpers insisted a greedy New Yorker fraudster was more important than rational thought and common sense of decent Christian Americans. I am a proud independent and happy to avoid affiliation with the morons that now run the Republican party who value power more than their constituents health.