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Public Health Officials Blew Up Their Credibility, and We're Paying the Price
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Michael Ejercito
Oct 4, 2021, 11:01:36 AM10/4/21
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http://www.reddit.com/r/COVIDrights/comments/q16zxs/public_health_officials_blew_up_their_credibility/
Vaccine hesitancy can, in part, be laid at the feet of experts who
betrayed the public’s trust.
J.D. TUCCILLE | 10.4.2021 7:00 AM
zumaamericasthirtytwo496507
(Patrick Gorski/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)
With COVID-19 still sickening and killing people even though effective
vaccines have been widely available for all since the spring, it's
frustrating to see vaccination rates creep up only slowly against a
head-wind of widespread resistance. It's even more frustrating that much
of that resistance can be attributed to self-inflicted wounds on the
part of public health experts and government officials. Having
effectively discarded their own credibility since the beginning of the
pandemic, the powers-that-be find that much of the population no longer
places faith in what they have to say.
"Why aren't tens of millions of eligible Americans fully vaccinated
against COVID-19?" The Economist and YouGov asked in a recent poll.
"Most who haven't started the vaccination process say it's a matter of
trust."
"Americans who are sure they will not get the vaccine are especially
likely to say their lack of trust in the government is their major
reason for rejecting the vaccine," the polling firm adds, with 22
percent of respondents giving that as their reason for refusing
vaccination, second to concerns about side effects.
Critics are certain to wave off the findings as the unfounded concerns
of low-information knuckle-draggers who need to be poked and prodded
into compliance. But, while such dismissal may confer a warm and fuzzy
feeling of superiority, it doesn't explain why health professionals also
have lost faith in public-health officials.
"Trust in the CDC and FDA has decreased dramatically during the COVID-19
pandemic among health care professionals," WebMD/Medscape noted in June.
"Out of nearly 2,000 U.S. nurses surveyed on Medscape (WebMD's sister
site for health care professionals) between May 25 and June 3, 77% said
their trust in the CDC has decreased since the start of the pandemic,
and 51% said their trust in the FDA has decreased. Similarly, out of
nearly 450 U.S. doctors surveyed in the same time period, 77% said their
trust in the CDC has decreased and 48% said their trust in the FDA has
decreased."
Respondents to the WebMD/Medscape poll cited concerns about politics
affecting public health decisions as well as contradictory messaging
about masks, vaccination, and proper conduct to avoid infection. Both of
those concerns were on display last year when public health officials
went from condemning anti-lockdown protests to promoting protests
against police brutality and racial injustice.
"Are Protests Dangerous? What Experts Say May Depend on Who's Protesting
What," The New York Times headlined an article on the whiplash-inducing
change in messaging over the potential health risks of public gatherings.
"I certainly condemned the anti-lockdown protests at the time, and I'm
not condemning the protests now, and I struggle with that," Catherine
Troisi, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science
Center, conceded to the Times. "I have a hard time articulating why that
is OK."
"It's one thing to protest what day nail salons are opening, and it's
another to come out in peaceful protest, overwhelmingly, about somebody
who was murdered right before our eyes," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
huffed in an open assertion that only protests with which he agreed were
acceptable.
To large numbers of Americans, it's obvious that many of the people
issuing public health dictates base their proclamations not on science
but on their personal biases. Those seeking actual medical guidance, or
who entertain different values, might feel perfectly justified in
ignoring public health officials who reveal themselves as just another
class of activists.
Hypocrisy also plays a powerful role in eroding trust for officialdom.
Last month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was caught partying at a
nightclub unmasked, in defiance of her own orders.
"No, I'm not going to sip and put my mask on, sip and put my mask on,
sip and put my mask on, eat and put my mask on. While I'm eating, and
I'm drinking, I'm going to keep my mask off," Breed told a reporter. She
also kept her mask off while dancing, which she defended by saying she
"wasn't thinking about a mask, I was thinking about having a good time."
It was a sentiment that many regular people no doubt share, but which
could get them fined if they were caught acting on it.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also exempted herself from the rules
when it was convenient.
"Despite the mayor's order, the wedding reception featured hundreds of
unmasked guests served by dozens of wait staff, including a
conspicuously unmasked Bowser," the Washington Examiner noted at the end
of July.
Breed and Bowser are hardly alone, since pandemic rules have
overwhelmingly been applied only to the little people and ignored by
those who make them and their friends. It's difficult to imagine a more
effective way of eroding officialdom's standing with the general public.
"Even if institutions manage to walk back their mistakes, this
self-destructive behavior will have serious long-term consequences,"
Zaid Jilani observed last week for Persuasion on the flurry of recent
own-goals scored by supposedly reliable experts. "If institutions
continue to undermine their own credibility, people may start going to
less reliable sources for information instead."
Jilani didn't even address the ongoing fiasco of pandemic-era guidance,
but instead focused on politicization in museums, think tanks, and
universities. The effect is the same, though: abandoning objectivity and
substituting ideological preferences for consistent standards damages
trust. It took a long time for experts and officials to build whatever
standing they had with the public; too many of them seem dead-set on
burning it as quickly as possible.
One end result of destroyed credibility, as we've seen, is resistance
among part of the population to vaccination for COVID-19, with trust
cited as the reason for that hesitancy. The fact is, millions of
Americans simply distrust the people who tell them that the vaccines are
safe and effective for reducing the dangers of the disease and have
turned to alternative sources that echo the public's disdain for the
powers-that-be while also peddling bad medical information. Yes,
anti-vaxxers are making bad choices, but they've been strongly nudged in
that direction by self-destructive experts.
Officials are justified in complaining about vaccine hesitancy among the
general population. But, when they're looking for somebody to blame
about the public's resistance to medical advice, they should look in the
mirror.
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
Vaccine hesitancy can, in part, be laid at the feet of experts who
betrayed the public’s trust.
J.D. TUCCILLE | 10.4.2021 7:00 AM
zumaamericasthirtytwo496507
(Patrick Gorski/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)
With COVID-19 still sickening and killing people even though effective
vaccines have been widely available for all since the spring, it's
frustrating to see vaccination rates creep up only slowly against a
head-wind of widespread resistance. It's even more frustrating that much
of that resistance can be attributed to self-inflicted wounds on the
part of public health experts and government officials. Having
effectively discarded their own credibility since the beginning of the
pandemic, the powers-that-be find that much of the population no longer
places faith in what they have to say.
"Why aren't tens of millions of eligible Americans fully vaccinated
against COVID-19?" The Economist and YouGov asked in a recent poll.
"Most who haven't started the vaccination process say it's a matter of
trust."
"Americans who are sure they will not get the vaccine are especially
likely to say their lack of trust in the government is their major
reason for rejecting the vaccine," the polling firm adds, with 22
percent of respondents giving that as their reason for refusing
vaccination, second to concerns about side effects.
Critics are certain to wave off the findings as the unfounded concerns
of low-information knuckle-draggers who need to be poked and prodded
into compliance. But, while such dismissal may confer a warm and fuzzy
feeling of superiority, it doesn't explain why health professionals also
have lost faith in public-health officials.
"Trust in the CDC and FDA has decreased dramatically during the COVID-19
pandemic among health care professionals," WebMD/Medscape noted in June.
"Out of nearly 2,000 U.S. nurses surveyed on Medscape (WebMD's sister
site for health care professionals) between May 25 and June 3, 77% said
their trust in the CDC has decreased since the start of the pandemic,
and 51% said their trust in the FDA has decreased. Similarly, out of
nearly 450 U.S. doctors surveyed in the same time period, 77% said their
trust in the CDC has decreased and 48% said their trust in the FDA has
decreased."
Respondents to the WebMD/Medscape poll cited concerns about politics
affecting public health decisions as well as contradictory messaging
about masks, vaccination, and proper conduct to avoid infection. Both of
those concerns were on display last year when public health officials
went from condemning anti-lockdown protests to promoting protests
against police brutality and racial injustice.
"Are Protests Dangerous? What Experts Say May Depend on Who's Protesting
What," The New York Times headlined an article on the whiplash-inducing
change in messaging over the potential health risks of public gatherings.
"I certainly condemned the anti-lockdown protests at the time, and I'm
not condemning the protests now, and I struggle with that," Catherine
Troisi, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science
Center, conceded to the Times. "I have a hard time articulating why that
is OK."
"It's one thing to protest what day nail salons are opening, and it's
another to come out in peaceful protest, overwhelmingly, about somebody
who was murdered right before our eyes," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
huffed in an open assertion that only protests with which he agreed were
acceptable.
To large numbers of Americans, it's obvious that many of the people
issuing public health dictates base their proclamations not on science
but on their personal biases. Those seeking actual medical guidance, or
who entertain different values, might feel perfectly justified in
ignoring public health officials who reveal themselves as just another
class of activists.
Hypocrisy also plays a powerful role in eroding trust for officialdom.
Last month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was caught partying at a
nightclub unmasked, in defiance of her own orders.
"No, I'm not going to sip and put my mask on, sip and put my mask on,
sip and put my mask on, eat and put my mask on. While I'm eating, and
I'm drinking, I'm going to keep my mask off," Breed told a reporter. She
also kept her mask off while dancing, which she defended by saying she
"wasn't thinking about a mask, I was thinking about having a good time."
It was a sentiment that many regular people no doubt share, but which
could get them fined if they were caught acting on it.
Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also exempted herself from the rules
when it was convenient.
"Despite the mayor's order, the wedding reception featured hundreds of
unmasked guests served by dozens of wait staff, including a
conspicuously unmasked Bowser," the Washington Examiner noted at the end
of July.
Breed and Bowser are hardly alone, since pandemic rules have
overwhelmingly been applied only to the little people and ignored by
those who make them and their friends. It's difficult to imagine a more
effective way of eroding officialdom's standing with the general public.
"Even if institutions manage to walk back their mistakes, this
self-destructive behavior will have serious long-term consequences,"
Zaid Jilani observed last week for Persuasion on the flurry of recent
own-goals scored by supposedly reliable experts. "If institutions
continue to undermine their own credibility, people may start going to
less reliable sources for information instead."
Jilani didn't even address the ongoing fiasco of pandemic-era guidance,
but instead focused on politicization in museums, think tanks, and
universities. The effect is the same, though: abandoning objectivity and
substituting ideological preferences for consistent standards damages
trust. It took a long time for experts and officials to build whatever
standing they had with the public; too many of them seem dead-set on
burning it as quickly as possible.
One end result of destroyed credibility, as we've seen, is resistance
among part of the population to vaccination for COVID-19, with trust
cited as the reason for that hesitancy. The fact is, millions of
Americans simply distrust the people who tell them that the vaccines are
safe and effective for reducing the dangers of the disease and have
turned to alternative sources that echo the public's disdain for the
powers-that-be while also peddling bad medical information. Yes,
anti-vaxxers are making bad choices, but they've been strongly nudged in
that direction by self-destructive experts.
Officials are justified in complaining about vaccine hesitancy among the
general population. But, when they're looking for somebody to blame
about the public's resistance to medical advice, they should look in the
mirror.
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
HeartDoc Andrew
Oct 4, 2021, 11:25:19 AM10/4/21
to
the U.S. & elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
finding out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who
among us are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or
asymptomatic) in order to http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John
15:12) for them to call their doctor and self-quarantine per their
doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic. Thus, we're hoping for the
best while preparing for the worse-case scenario of the Alpha lineage
mutations and others like the Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, Lambda, Mu &
Delta lineage mutations combining to form hybrids that render current
COVID vaccines/pills no longer effective.
Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://HeartMDPhD.com/EternalMedicalLicense
2024 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
Oct 4, 2021, 11:30:13 AM10/4/21
to
Michael
HeartDoc Andrew
Oct 4, 2021, 11:33:25 AM10/4/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Suggested further reading:
https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/5EWtT4CwCOg/m/QjNF57xRBAAJ
Shorter link:
http://bit.ly/StatCOVID-19Test
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all
glory ( http://HeartMDPhD.com/Psalm117_ ) to GOD, Who causes us to
hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us right now (Luke 6:21a)
thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT from around the heart
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Suggested further reading:
https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/5EWtT4CwCOg/m/QjNF57xRBAAJ
Shorter link:
http://bit.ly/StatCOVID-19Test
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all
glory ( http://HeartMDPhD.com/Psalm117_ ) to GOD, Who causes us to
hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us right now (Luke 6:21a)
thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT from around the heart
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