I’ve been thinking quite a bit about trust lately, especially after reading a real pick-me-up in the Washington Post about the pandemic and splintering of societies.
We’ve already seen what a year of sickness and upheaval can do to a country, and the National Intelligence Council says it’s just the start. Their long-term forecast calls for “a widening gap between what people demand from their leaders and what they can actually deliver.”
Truth is, we may be expecting way too much of our government even as we’re beginning to think too little of people we depend upon more intimately, including healthcare providers.
When looking at the creation of vaccines that may bring our enemy to the precipice of defeat, it’s hard not to feel a little impressed by our government’s effort.
Still, the stunning news that federal officials wanted to pause the use of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine left me feeling wobbly.
I’m concerned about the effect on the ongoing U.S. vaccination campaign. How do we get the naysayers on board now?
In my silly little head, the government pause shows our safeguards work as they should. But others don’t put similar trust in our institutions. Even before the J&J disclosure and news, anti-vaxxers (and some people who are hesitant about getting a COVID-19 shot specifically) seemed to expect side-effect-free shots all around.
Some are surely embracing the reports of complications as proof of a previous cover-up. But at press time, fewer than one-in-a-million vaccine recipients had the kind of stroke that triggered the re-examination.
I am not discounting the risk of clotting, nor am I saying the vaccine should be given a blanket pass to remain.
But I’m going to keep on trusting the system as officials figure out next steps. One reason is that I’m with my fellow Americans in believing nurses, doctors and pharmacists are the most honest professionals in the U.S. Would they put shots in arms if they didn’t trust the science?
Let’s keep asking hard questions about all the vaccines, but please also accept the science-backed responses we get from our leaders. Don’t just do that increasingly American thing of seeking opinions that validate your own.
Let’s also expect less perfection (albeit no less safety) from our bureaucracies and start thinking a little more of the people doing the hard work meant to protect us all.
Otherwise, we’re just a nation without trust, waiting for the crack that splinters us for good.
