I consider myself very "science minded", which is why I absolutely hate the phrase "trust the scientists." Primarily because science is all about having a healthy skepticism, and if anything it's about trusting the scientific process (even then, "trust" is a not a great word here - we "trust" the scientific process because history shows it works).
The CDC has made plenty of mistakes and mishaps during this pandemic, so "trusting" them would be foolhardy in my opinion. That said, the CDC has many brilliant people working for them, and unlike many of their critics in my opinion they are always acting in good faith.
But they still exist in the area of public health policy, which is about much more than just "science". Zeynep Tufekci, a sociologist, has had some of the best articles and analysis throughout the pandemic. She advocated public mask wearing when the CDC was telling people it wasn't necessary, and she just recently said the CDC's mask guidelines were too timid [1].
The message shouldn't be "trust the scientists". The science here is actually not that complicated that most people can't grasp it. The message should be to dig in to the science that is presented so you can make up your own mind.
When a lot of people and organizations say "trust the scientists", it seems what they actually mean/do is "trust the scientists when they say we need tighter restrictions, but ignore the scientists when they say we can loosen restrictions".
A handful of people on the internet do not make the vast majority of people or organizations. Look at the messaging coming from the President today, in line with the CDC. WA state is set to be fully open by June 30th at the latest based on current trends combined with the CDC guidance.
I meant people in positions of power who make rules that other people have to follow, more so than random people on the Internet just giving their opinions. For example, I predict it will take a lot longer for mask mandates to go away than it did for them to appear when the CDC first said so.
"I want to be clear about what the CDC is saying – and what the CDC isn’t saying. The CDC is saying they have concluded that fully vaccinated people are at very low risk for getting COVID-19. Therefore, if you’re fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask."
The CDC has made plenty of mistakes and mishaps during this pandemic, so "trusting" them would be foolhardy in my opinion. That said, the CDC has many brilliant people working for them, and unlike many of their critics in my opinion they are always acting in good faith.
But they still exist in the area of public health policy, which is about much more than just "science". Zeynep Tufekci, a sociologist, has had some of the best articles and analysis throughout the pandemic. She advocated public mask wearing when the CDC was telling people it wasn't necessary, and she just recently said the CDC's mask guidelines were too timid [1].
The message shouldn't be "trust the scientists". The science here is actually not that complicated that most people can't grasp it. The message should be to dig in to the science that is presented so you can make up your own mind.
[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/04/cdc-outdo...