Despite the widespread availability of Covid vaccines in the United States, a significant percentage of Americans have declined to take advantage of these life-protecting agents. One hears a wide variety of reasons for this vaccine hesitancy but, in my opinion, it boils down to a distrust of science.
Such distrust is generally associated with three factors that often overlap: a limited science education, a tendency toward mysticism and a receptivity to disinformation (political or otherwise). No doubt, many young adults feel immune to the more severe consequences of Covid but a distrust of public health officials has certainly been playing a role.
From early in the course of the pandemic, public health recommendations have been inconsistent and often confusing; when guidelines have been changed (due to new scientific information), the reasons were not well explained and seemingly arbitrary. Even today, the CDC seems to be reluctant to clarify the many advantages that come with vaccination. The science of vaccine development has not failed Americans but the poor dissemination of reliable scientific information (especially during the Trump Administration) has created the vaccine divide that now impairs effective control of the pandemic.
