Science Literacy: a path to vaccine acceptance and ultimately ending the pandemic
By Keeley Mui
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been drinking from a firehose, consuming a constant stream of information from scientists, health authorities, and government leaders. We are continually updated with COVID-19 statistics, preliminary scientific data and new public safety guidelines. How do we make sense of this information in order to make decisions that protect ourselves and our communities? Trust in science. Really. The very basis of science is rooted in questioning, rigorous testing and repetition to uphold facts. Science is an iterative process that adheres to facts, and overturns previously held certainties as new evidence emerges.
With recent reports that the CDC and FDA have been struggling to maintain independence while under political pressure from the White House, public confidence in these agencies have wavered. Society depends on these agencies to guide critical decisions affecting their well-being, so the CDC and FDA must work to repair public trust. However, it remains that science does not have an allegiance to political parties, but to the truth. Scientists and public health officials have an obligation to accurately report the truth of their findings to the public to inform and to safeguard health and safety. As citizens, it is also our obligation to better understand how science works and how it serves our communities. Science literacy plays a key role in forming an informed citizenry that can better navigate issues that affect society as a whole, such as health care and the environment. As members of a society who collectively want to improve and emerge stronger from this pandemic, we must make a renewed effort to improve science literacy.
Take for instance, the flu season that we’re heading into. Scientific evidence shows that the best preventable measures against infection and keeping vulnerable groups safe is the flu vaccination. Getting vaccinated against the flu is even more important this year as we’re simultaneously combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. Understanding the science helps us make choices that benefit society — if everyone that is able to get a flu vaccine does, our individual behaviors can collectively have a societal impact and create a safer, healthier community that protects our vulnerable loved ones and relieves burden on our healthcare workers.
As we are simultaneously combating the flu season and the COVID-19 pandemic, now is a critical time for us to reexamine the science demonstrating the efficacy of vaccines and to make the right decision to protect our collective health and safety. Although there are vaccines and treatments for the flu, no such safety nets yet exist for COVID-19. In addition to continuing with social distancing and wearing masks in public, a key part of the equation in mitigating widespread respiratory illnesses and preventing a “twindemic” is increasing the number of flu vaccinations.
The reasons to get vaccinated against the flu virus this season are multiple. A vaccine not only protects the vaccinated individual, but also vulnerable groups, including newborns, the elderly, and immunosuppressed and immunodeficient people. Health experts are concerned about this flu season potentially exacerbating and contributing to a second surge of COVID-19, and cannot rule out the potential risk of people becoming co-infected with both the flu and SARS-CoV2 viruses, with the flu potentially compounding complications with COVID-19. Flu vaccinations will also be necessary to ease the burden on hospitals and keep from overwhelming our healthcare systems with both COVID-19 patients and patients suffering severe flu symptoms. The CDC estimated more than 400,000 people were hospitalized last year for illnesses associated with the flu. The flu season is also expected to put strains on COVID-19 testing as well. As flu and COVID-19 share similar symptoms (fever, chills, cough, difficulty breathing, etc.), testing to rule our SARS-CoV2 will be a priority. Getting the flu vaccination will alleviate some of this strain by decreasing the likelihood of flu infection, and is the best preventable measure against infection and serious complications.
However, increasing flu vaccinations this season is not enough; we must also to lay the groundwork for more widespread vaccine acceptance by broadening science literacy. This flu season will come and go, but the battle to gain vaccine acceptance must continue. Scientists around the world are currently racing to create a vaccine against the SARS-CoV2 virus, but a vaccine is only effective if people actually get vaccinated. Vaccine hesitancy, which is defined as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services”, was listed by the World Health Organization in 2019 as one of the major global health threats. A survey in May found that only 50% of people in the U.S. would get a coronavirus vaccine when one is available. This is worrisome because to ultimately end the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant portion of the population need to develop immunity.
Vaccine acceptance and science literacy go hand-in-hand. Being science literate is so critical, especially now during this rapidly evolving public health crisis where we have to digest so much information and also misinformation. “Science literacy is important because it provides a context for addressing societal problems, and because a science-literate populace can better cope with many of its problems and make intelligent and informed decisions that will affect the quality of their lives and those of their children.” Science literacy can start with messaging and educating the public. Public health authorities and researchers need to help the public better understanding the science behind vaccines. Many people are concerned and/or misinformed about the safety and efficacy of vaccines. Vaccines undergo rigorous stages of testing and trials to prove efficacy and safety before it can be administered widely. The accelerated pace at which this vaccine is being generated certainly raises concerns that proper safety checks may be bypassed, but the FDA has safeguards and regulations to ensure quality and safety before a vaccine can be widely administered. However, simply presenting facts and data does little to ease worries and concerns, especially when it comes to assuaging parents’ concerns about the safety of their children. Messaging about vaccinations need to factual, but also compassionate and directly speak to concerns.
Beyond messaging, we also need to lay the groundwork for vaccine acceptance by educating future generations. One way forward is to improve science literacy in schools. Developing science literacy starts with STEM education. STEM education teaches students to think critically about what they see and hear and develop skills to evaluate evidence, make sense of information, and solve problems. Understanding that science is a method and iterative process that produces new information as new evidence arises can help us to better combat misinformation. Developing science literacy, especially from a young age, helps children make sense of the world they live in and grow into adults who weigh evidence and considers science in decisions that affect society. By improving science literacy in future generations, we can hopefully make more informed decisions on vaccinations, and make choices that keep each other safe and benefit society as whole.
Keeley Mui, PhD is an associate research scientist in the Department of Pathology & Cell Biology in Columbia University.
