I mentioned several weeks ago that Ph.D.s and professional degrees (J.D. and M.D.) were the most vaccine-hesitant. This June WebMD poll linked to by Reason shows a deep distrust of CDC nd FDA by nurses and doctors:
Out of nearly 2,000 U.S. nurses surveyed on Medscape (WebMD's sister site for health care professionals) between May 25 and June 3, 77% said their trust in the CDC has decreased since the start of the pandemic, and 51% said their trust in the FDA has decreased. Similarly, out of nearly 450 U.S. doctors surveyed in the same time period, 77% said their trust in the CDC has decreased and 48% said their trust in the FDA has decreased.
Health care professionals have been critical of these agencies’ decisions during the pandemic, with some concerned that their work has been politicized.
“I do not question, doubt or disagree with the mission(s) of the agencies,” one nurse wrote in a comment on the Medscape poll. “I do (within the last 2 years) question the degree to which leaders of those institutions are able to truly implement scientifically sound and public health-centric recommendations and practices free from political influence and bias.”...
In addition to a lack of trust, many health care professionals said they disagreed with the CDC's and FDA’s actions on COVID-19. About half of both doctors and nurses said they disagreed with the FDA’s overall decision-making during the pandemic, compared to 36% of WebMD readers. Nearly 60% of doctors and 65% of nurses said they disagreed with the CDC’s overall pandemic guidance, while 39% of WebMD readers did.
Last month’s CDC guidelines that fully vaccinated people did not need to wear masks or socially distance are a prime example of where health care professionals disagree with official guidance.
“The new CDC masking guidelines centers those communities that have high rates of vaccination and those for whom masking was a burden,” tweeted pediatrician Rhea Boyd, MD. “In communities where most folks are still “waiting to see” or lack access to vaccine, masking is still critical for EVERYONE.”
“They flip flop daily on masks and which vaccine is safe,” a doctor commented about the CDC and FDA on the Medscape poll. “Sadly, I no longer feel I can trust them at all.”
Why? One of the Tweets they quoted from comments on their poll:
Because of the damage done by the prior administration, the
@CDCgov
and
@CDCDirector
were put in the position to earn back the public and scientific community’s trust.
This is a head-scratcher for me. I had no idea that either CDC or FDA bent to Trump's political wishes; if anything it seemed to me that CDC was going out of their way to fight Trump. In any case, this is hardly a Trumper sort of position.
The large scale firing of nurses and doctors to which I have alluded in prevuious postings now makes more sense.
Had occasion over the weekend to talk with an old friend who is retired from CDC. She said the rank and file at CDC are horrified by the actions of their upper management over the last five years. Take it for what it's worth.
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