A recent NY Times newsletter claimed we are "underselling" vaccines by honestly communicating the unknowns w/ the benefits and suggested more optimism.

Make no mistake: these vaccines are fantastic. But the article was flawed. @tarahaelle explains why. https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2021/01/reporting-responsibly-on-covid-19-vaccines-requires-knowing-the-research-landscape/

In my own communications, I'm clear that I'm elated by these vaccines. But that doesn't stop me from being honest about what we don't yet know. The reality is, we'll have to keep taking other precautions for a little while longer. But NOT forever. Just until more get vaccinated.

Right now the demand for these vaccines far exceeds the supply and that limited supply is hard to access because of distribution issues. So while vaccine hesitancy is a problem, it's not the most urgent roadblock to widespread vaccination. The roadblock is getting shots in arms.

We should create demand to convince more people to get vaccinated when there's more supply and distribution is going well. How to create demand?

Build trust.

How do you build trust?

Honesty.

We must be honest with the public about what we know and what we don't. We must be honest with the public about what they should expect in the near future.

That means explaining what we don't know.

It means explaining why precautions are still needed.

The vaccines are our long-term solution. I'm looking forward to seeing friends and family as much as everyone else. but the reality right now is this:

We do everyone a disservice by pretending that the vaccines are a magical panacea to the grave situation we are in. By communicating only optimism without any of the cautions, we fail to prepare people for the difficulties directly in front of us. That, in turn, fosters distrust.

Because the vaccines won't be available to most of us for weeks or months. And we need to keep taking precautions now, while helping people manage their expectations and answering their questions in a direct and forthright way. This does NOT mean we should tell people to despair!

It means that we need to extol the fact-based virtues of the vaccines without omitting what's still unknown. It means that we need to give clear guidance on what people still need to do to protect themselves and their loved ones until there's enough vaccine to go around.

But that does not include overstating the benefits to vaccination. It does not include withholding information that may be construed as negative or discouraging, and it certainly does not include telling people that a nuanced discussion of the evidence is pessimistic.

So please, scientists, reporters, and thinkers/influencers/people with opinions weighing in from other fields, let's celebrate these vaccines! Let's not suggest that an evidence-based discussion detracts from the triumph for public health that they represent.