Covid has sparked vaccine skepticism. It could affect preparation for the next pandemic

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there was a moment when I thought it was a unified time for the United States, like the way Americans came together after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

But Matt Motta, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health who studies anti-science attitudes, remembers when he first felt he was convinced that the pandemic would divide Americans instead.

it was Just 5 years ago: March 24th, 2020. At that point, many states and municipalities were closed, and people were staying at home to reduce the spread spread of the virus and prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed by Covid-19 patients.

President Trump appeared on Fox News and said life should return to normal by Easter. Easter is less than three weeks later. “I think you packed churches all over our country on Easter Sunday,” Trump said. “I think it's going to be a beautiful time.”

These statements were at odds with the views of most public health experts at the time. Throughout the pandemic, Trump made false claims about the virus and pushed for bailouts that went wrong.

Motta traces the line directly from Trump's comments five years ago to the trends in public opinion that continues to this day. “The things that President Trump made to portray Covid 19 were not as serious as it led to polarization,” Motta said.

Partisan split in vaccines

Vaccine attitudes are one of the key ways polarization unfolded.

“Why are you vaccinated when the threat of infection is not so serious?” Motta said. “That's when we began to see the divide in public opinion, Republicans began to hold more negative views about vaccinations, and Democrats started to hold more positive views.”

The pandemic has accelerated what was a new trend that vaccine hesitancy became a more Republican issue, Motta said.

Those who view Covid-19 vaccines negatively are also increasingly negative for other vaccines. Motta's research And others found it.

One in four Republican parents have skipped or delayed childhood vaccines for their children, including the MMR vaccine that protects them from measles. Research from KFFa non-profit health policy organization.

“The University of Miami has been studying conspiracy theory beliefs,” said Joseph Usinsky, a political scientist at the University of Miami, who studies conspiracy theory beliefs.

“And now you have a political leader who promotes a lot of anti-Vax ideas and makes them very prominent by throwing people who push those ideas into the main offices of government in our country,” he said.

Several factors drive the trend.

Washington University biologist Carl Bergstrom has been studying the spread of infectious diseases and misinformation, calling the Covid-19 pandemic “a great opportunity to push anti-vax propaganda and step into new segments of the population.”

One of the most Notable spreader The misleading content about the vaccine was Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Previously he led the health defense of childrenan anti-vaccination nonprofit organization and is now Trump's Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

In his new role, Kennedy said The committee examines childhood vaccination schedulesdespite his promise to the US Senator that he would not change it. His agency recently Tap vaccine skeptics Previously, those who spread false claims to reexamine the credible theory that vaccines cause autism. He has issued several statements promoting the use of MMR vaccines to address the outbreak of measles, but made others Misleading or not supported Vaccine claims and Emphasis on nutrition and alternative therapies Like Vitamin A instead. Following that advice, some children with measles are treated in western Texas Toxic level of vitamin A.

Dr. Peter Marks, top vaccine expert at the Food and Drug Administration He was kicked out of his agency and resigned on Friday. “It has become clear that truth and transparency are not wanted by the secretary, but rather he wants a subordinate confirmation of his misinformation and lies,” writes Marks.

Rethinking Vaccine Messaging

Public health experts are now sternly reflecting on how there is a shortage of messages about the Covid-19 vaccine.

Dr. Anna Durbin, a vaccine expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the Covid-19 vaccine is designed not to completely prevent infection, but to prevent death and severe illness.

But she said this was not well conveyed, and many people mistakenly thought, “They will never co-star again — and they know that it's just not right.”

Dan Salmon, director of the Johns Hopkins Vaccine Safety Association, said in his view it was the Biden administration's decision to require large employers to require staff to get Covid-19 shots or test staff as “betrayed in many ways” each week. That's the rule It was eventually overturned by the US Supreme Court..

“I don't think vaccine coverage has improved, but I think a lot of people felt that 'the government is making me do this.' People don't like it,” Salmon said.

This is the result of a decline in vaccination rates in childhood. Increased cases of measles In the US, most of it is linked to an outbreak that began in Texas in January.

“There is a very real concern that this could lead to a widespread outbreak of measles,” Salmon said. “I mean, I really hope that doesn't happen, but the US is very vulnerable right now.”

Salmon said it should be aware that patients and parents have legitimate questions seeking answers about vaccine safety, and that salmon needs to move forward.

“What we need to do in public health is the subject of that concern, not name calls, not calling that person anti-vaccine or anti-public health,” Salmon said.

Threatening Vaccine Research

There is irony about the partisan division of vaccines. Some Covid-19 vaccines benefited from Trump administration initiatives, such as the speed of warp speed, which accelerated vaccine development. The vaccine became widely available in 2021. I recommend people get shotsand while also noting that people have the freedom to make decisions.

“The Covid vaccine saved millions of lives. It was very successful. It was developed with only a small portion of the previous vaccine,” Bergstrom said.

However, its success will be difficult to replicate in the current political environment, despite the imminent threat of avian flu as a potential health threat.

Over the past few weeks, the federal health agency has created it. Mass Ray Off and Budget reductionincluding eliminating funds for research into vaccine hesitancy. scientist I'm afraid of that research on mRNA technologymay have been used in major Covid-19 vaccines.

Kennedy, the country's best health officer, has Previously, he made negative comments about the avian flu vaccine The vaccine experts are called false and inaccurate.

Recently, poultry farms have proposed heterodox that they should no longer consider culling infected chickens, but scientists have issued warnings that such a plan could allow the virus to mutate in a dangerous way. His spokesman defended the proposal. New York Times A way to prevent humans from being infected by sick chickens.

Motta of Boston University said he was concerned that elected officials continue to politicize public health issues.

“I'm really worried that I haven't learned lessons since Covid-19.”