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   Misinformation and distrust of science and government exacerbated by the   
   pandemic   
      
   The pandemic has exacerbated an already deteriorating public trust in the   
   scientific community, experts say.   
      
   “Science has unfortunately, always been politicized in the United   
   States,” Dowdy said. “Many view scientists as being alarmist rather than   
   rational. When scientists in the U.S. push for things like COVID-19   
   vaccination, this has also become a political — rather than objective —   
   statement.”   
      
   In addition, confusion over inconsistent and shifting messages from the   
   federal government further eroded trust in the management of the pandemic   
   by health agencies, intensifying the divide.   
      
      
   “It’s concerning that the pandemic seemed to deepen the pre-existing gaps   
   in confidence between Republicans and Democrats in our national health   
   agencies,” said Thomas Wood, assistant professor of political science at   
   The Ohio State University.   
      
   The C.D.C. has repeatedly defended itself against accusations of flip-   
   flopping, as they updated their public health guidelines, throughout the   
   pandemic.   
      
   The reality has been that the science behind COVID-19 is not black and   
   white, but more often, gray, C.D.C. Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told   
   CBS News' "60 Minutes," earlier this month.   
      
   “Since my getting here what I said is, 'we're gonna lead with the   
   science.' The implication was that science was black and white, and in   
   fact, in an ever-evolving virus, and a two-year-long pandemic, the   
   science isn't always black and white. It's — it's oftentimes shades of   
   gray,” Walensky said.   
   MORE: US flying blind to potential COVID-19 resurgence, experts say, as   
   states scale back on testing, data reporting   
      
   Further, the barrage of misinformation, particularly in the first few   
   months of the pandemic, and of denialism, added Jacobson, played a big   
   role in abetting this lack of trust in science, as well as in government,   
   in public institutions, and ultimately costs lives.   
      
   “A clear problem was people’s unwillingness to take precautions — the   
   feeling that COVID-19 doesn’t exist,” Jacobson said.   
      
   A key question for officials to address will be how to repair the damage   
   that has been done to public health, to the sciences, given the   
   politicization of the pandemic, Jacobson explained.   
      
   The long-term implications for public health are, if not dire, certainly   
   troublesome, he added.   
      
   “We are not going to be prepared for [the next pandemic], because the   
   public isn’t prepared,” Jacobson concluded.   
      
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