Public Health s Truth Problem
Throughout the pandemic, public-health officials have omitted uncomfortable truths, made misleading statements, and advanced demonstrably false assertions. In the information era, where what one says is easily accessible and anyone may read primary literature, these falsehoods will be increasingly recognized and severely damage the field s credibility. No doubt, officials and organizations promulgating them had a range of motivations including honorable ones, such as wanting to encourage salutary choices. Yet the subsequent loss of institutional trust may result in harm that far outweighs any short-term policy objectives.
It’s better not to evade the law in order to manufacture a deadly virus, even if it would be cool to do so.