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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NP. Personally I think some of the obvious untruths that were promulgated during the pandemic permanently broke trust in a lot of people who used to unquestionably trust organizations like the CDC, Scientific American, NHS, physician organizations, etc. The lies about no learning loss in children from remote learning, “kids are resilient,” college-aged young men must get the Covid vaccine when efficacy in that group was not clear and heart issues were a possibility, toddlers need to be masked, etc. caused a deep loss of trust. And that doesn’t even get to the ridiculous “settled science” lies about medical transitions of children. Government entities and professional organizations destroyed the careers of doctors who even mildly questioned gender medicine for children.

Therefore, this a predictable extremist pendulum swing in response to an extremist pendulum swing. And the unfortunate fact is that solid, useful, grounded-in-reality science is deeply suffering as a result. Research has been set back decades.

I think this is an object lesson in the value of self-policing. In the pandemic, the most insane voices got elevated to the same level as more reasoned voices. When organizations don’t police their extremes, trust is lost. That’s what happened here. And we are all paying the price. [/quote]

Your comment grossly misrepresents pandemic science and policy. While public messaging evolved with new data, the core claims - about learning loss, vaccine safety, masking, and gender medicine, are either exaggerated or demonstrably false. Trust in science suffers more from misinformation than from cautious, evidence-based guidance.

Let's look at your claims, compared to reality:

Learning loss denial? No serious institution claimed there was no learning loss. In fact, the CDC and academic studies acknowledged significant setbacks, especially in math and reading, and called for targeted recovery efforts.

“Kids are resilient” as a lie? This phrase was used to reassure, not deny harm. Pediatric psychologists emphasized resilience alongside the need for support. It’s not a scientific claim, it’s a framing choice.

Vaccines for college-aged men? COVID vaccines were recommended based on risk-benefit analysis. Myocarditis risk from COVID itself was in many cases as high as 27x greater than from the vaccine in young men, and most cases where myocarditis was associated with vaccines, it was mild and resolved quickly, unlike the more serious cases that came from COVID.  The vaccines slighly increased risk, but in the long run actually did more to protect young men from more serious COVID-related myocarditis.

Masking toddlers? Masking guidance for young children was cautious and context-dependent. The CDC never mandated universal masking for toddlers, and policies varied by transmission rates and setting.

Gender medicine and “settled science”? Medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and WPATH support gender-affirming care based on decades of research. Debate exists, but your hyperbolic claims of career destruction for “mild questioning” are anecdotal and tied far more closely to political narratives than medicine.

The real threat to science isn't the things you rail about, it's been the spread of misinformation, deliberate disinformation, and vicious politicization, not cautious public health messaging.  That is what has done far more damage to erode trust.

Science evolves. Early pandemic guidance changed as data improved. That’s not failure, it’s the scientific method in action.

Research isn’t "set back decades" by the actions of science or our public health officials - mRNA vaccine development, remote learning tech, and public health infrastructure have advanced dramatically.  But now we have fools like RFK Jr. attacking and undermining all of that, thanks to conspiracy theories, misguided MAGA politicization, and debunked nonsense.[/quote]

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