Hard agree. Communicating that we don't know how well the vaccines will curb transmission is not the same thing as saying they likely won't. Anti-vaxxers running with that message is not because scientists haven't conveyed the nuances or outright misrepresented the data.
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Replying to @angie_rasmussen @stgoldst and
Every interview I've done on the topic has 1. praised the triumph of the vaccines, 2. said they will likely reduce transmission but we don't yet know so use caution for now, and 3. said that assessing protection against infection should be the first priority.
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Replying to @angie_rasmussen @stgoldst and
And I also spoke at the Pfizer/BioNTech adcomm about how we could use serology to assess that. I think it's incorrect to say that because we aren't speculating on data we don't yet have that we are enabling anti-vax misinformation. Everyone I know has discussed this at length.
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Replying to @angie_rasmussen @stgoldst and
All this started because *I've* pointed out it was good to say "they will likely reduce transmission but we don't yet know so use caution for now". I assure you that message is not getting out the way it needs to. I can point to individuals who say it, but I see what's out there.
3 replies 2 retweets 28 likes -
Dr. Angela Rasmussen Retweeted zeynep tufekci
Further up in the thread you said that scientists were focusing on the gloom of the unknown & that misinformation is thriving because we fail to communicate nuance. Now you say we are communicating that nuance but it's somehow not getting out? I'm confusedhttps://twitter.com/zeynep/status/1339581692802199552?s=20 …
Dr. Angela Rasmussen added,
zeynep tufekciVerified account @zeynepReplying to @zeynep @BogochIsaac and 2 othersThe problem is people don't feel confident in saying "look these are the indicators but here's why we gotta wait" and think that if we say that, everyone will go all reckless. In reality, I think not communicating the nuance/data is what leads to dismissal and recklessness.1 reply 1 retweet 7 likes -
Replying to @angie_rasmussen @zeynep and
Anti-vaccine advocates are claiming that scientists are saying the vaccines won't prevent transmission, but most scientists are not actually saying that. Anti-vaxxers are creating false narratives. It's wrong to claim this is solely an issue of failed communication by experts.
1 reply 3 retweets 24 likes -
Replying to @angie_rasmussen @stgoldst and
Who said "solely"? But yes, absolutely, not communicating the nuance, complexity and the timeline of what we do and don't know is exactly what misinformation and wariness thrives on, and countering it requires look at what's happening out there beyond what an individual has said.
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I agree with that, but it's not just an individual communicating the nuances. It's *most* experts interviewed on the topic. What data do you have that this message is not getting out there, other than anti-vaxxers being predictably loud about it?
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Replying to @angie_rasmussen @stgoldst and
Part of what I do is monitor the public conversation around these topics, both because I'm out there writing and also because studying the public sphere/information ecology is what I do (well used to do more of!) before the pandemic.
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Replying to @zeynep @angie_rasmussen and
The reasons I keep urging individuals is that the top-down messaging is already not great, and media/social media swung from denialism to alarmism (NYT sent a push alert for a single adverse event yesterday), and people *are* confused.
3 replies 0 retweets 17 likes
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Hank Green
I forgot to circle back but others have the same impression as me on what the message had “morphed into.” As I said, I monitor these things and no doubt there were people (like you!) who said what I praised in the first tweet. But what he is saying below has been happening.https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1341165998674567169 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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Replying to @zeynep @angie_rasmussen and
I wonder if Americans are less appreciative of (or less able to handle?) uncertainty in covid communications than the Germans.https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/mpif-gwo121020.php …
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Replying to @zeynep @angie_rasmussen and
zeynep tufekci Retweeted Natalie E. Dean, PhD
Also Natalie has a nice thread, with more excellent framing.https://twitter.com/nataliexdean/status/1341438223084441600 …
zeynep tufekci added,
Natalie E. Dean, PhDVerified account @nataliexdeanAs@hankgreen nicely points out, we have to be careful that "we don't know whether the vaccine reduces transmission" doesn't morph into "the vaccine doesn't reduce transmission." How do we communicate this uncertainty? A few thoughts. 1/7 https://twitter.com/hankgreen/status/1341165997294637056 …Show this thread0 replies 0 retweets 6 likesThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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