How Anti-Science Groups Distort Scientific Debate

"At some point somebody in schools of communication handed down the edict that all science communication must be conducted at the 6th grade level...for years I've had tremendous frustration trying to convey nuance."

Scientists are willing to speak out and have collegial debates – but medical institutions and media have to catch up.

Additionally, people with credentials aren’t always open about their political motives; fringe voices are often the only ones platformed to advance the important scientific principles of skepticism and debate.

Dr. Peter J. Hotez, Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine
at Baylor College of Medicine, discusses the scarcity of good science communication amid the world's first social mediatized pandemic.

Hotez is a physician and researcher with experience in neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development. At Baylor College of Medicine, Hotez is the Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine.

Dr. Hotez is also involved in vaccine development efforts related to SARS-CoV-2. He recently authored a paper proposing a federally directed but state-adaptive reopening centered on the goal of acceptable containment of COVID-19 nationally on a reasonable timeline.