A month old article but still relevant.
Stampedes normally kill more victims than the panic and as authorities storm toward the new SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, their missteps and mispronouncements are further killing the public trust in vaccines and the scientific community. The only strategy in most Western countries is to procure as many COVID-19 vaccines as quickly as possible. But words speak louder than actions when public fear and hesitancy is at a high point and I don’t see any clear strategy to ensure trust and public uptake of these sought-after vaccines. If the last week in vaccine communications is anything to go by, I sometimes wish our authorities would just sit down and shut up.
And amidst the seemingly incessant litany of risk management failures surrounding COVID-19 sits the anti-vaxxer, calmly recording each confused pronouncement as they prepare to swell their ranks. If the authorities don’t learn proper vaccine risk communications, I fear we’ll see anti-vaccine sentiment pass the 50% level in most Western countries. Forget herd immunity – we’ll only attain herd impunity (and a lot of discarded vaccine stock).
-Doc
