The public confusion regarding the polio vaccine highlights problems in scientific communication between the establishment and the public
While we were preparing this issue for printing, the vaccination operation against the wild strain of the polio virus that was discovered in the sewers in various places in Israel was underway in Israel. You can read about the effect of this outbreak on the elimination of the virus around the world On our website, and in the article "Secret and dangerousYou will find an explanation of how the virus can be found among people who have been vaccinated in the past and they act as "hidden distributors" of the disease.
The vaccination operation provoked countless debates and discussions in the public and difficult deliberations in families: to vaccinate or not to vaccinate was the most common question in Israel last summer. One of the reasons for the stormy reactions is that this is a complex issue, which combines scientific knowledge, risk assessment and weighing of opposing factors. At the same time, there is a widespread feeling that the information we receive from the authorities is not complete and transparent. In such a climate it is very easy for interested parties to dominate the discourse. Feelings of mistrust in the health system, the pharmaceutical companies, the government and experts were observed and increased blatantly.
Such debates make news all over the world. One example of this is the crisis of trust in the health system and the government that took place in Great Britain in the late 90s after the outbreak of "mad cow disease". The event was defined as a "fiasco" and resulted in the establishment of a House of Lords investigative committee. "The relationship between society and science is at a critical stage," stated the committee's report published in February 2000. "On the one hand, there has never been a time when issues involving science [and technology] were more fascinating, or the public was more interested in them or the opportunities they provide us were clearer. But on the other hand, public trust in the scientific advice that the government receives has taken a few hits... Many people feel a deep discomfort that certain areas, such as biotechnology and information technologies, present enormous opportunities but also advance too quickly, before the public is aware of them or agrees to them. As a result, the public uneasiness, the lack of trust, and sometimes even the outright hostility, create a climate of deep anxiety even among the scientists themselves."
Experts dealing with the issue emphasize the necessity to convey to the public information that involves uncertainty and the need for risk assessment, even if it is a difficult task. And in today's world of science and technology, there is almost no field that is free of profound uncertainties and dilemmas. Take for example the issue in your hands: nanotechnology is a field that may provide "smart" materials and sophisticated medical treatments [see: "The tiniest frontier of medicine" page 13] but its consequences for our health or the environment are less clear; Genetically engineered food may provide a solution to the world's hunger problem but is almost completely banned in Europe [see: "Reflections: GM food myth versus reality” by Bracha Reger and Uri Kogan, page 18]; New sources of fuel are needed for the continued existence of the economy but threaten the climate [see: "Greenhouse Asphalt" page 56]; And finally, information technologies are able to save us from heart attacks or strokes [see: "To assemble and forget", page 19] but threaten our freedom and privacy.
One of the important ways to deal with these important issues is to develop the field of science communication. Already 13 years ago, the British committee recommended the development of two-way science communication, which would include the exchange of information and opinions between experts and ordinary people. The field of science communication is also flourishing in Israel as thousands flock to hundreds of lectures and events on scientific topics throughout the country. But in our opinion there is still a lot of room to expand and deepen it for many audiences in the Israeli public.
However, it seems that the main problem is still in front of us: the experts, the government ministries and the media find it very difficult to deal with issues where there is no "black and white" but a need for a balanced understanding of probabilities, an assessment of risk versus benefit, the integration of scientific, political and economic information, and a balance between ideologies and between facts and findings Empirical. More and more elements in the public are no longer ready to accept the "institutionalized" information simply, but they lack the tools to analyze this information.
The lesson from the polio vaccination events is twofold: on the one hand, institutionalized bodies, such as government ministries and academic bodies, must undergo a system overhaul in everything related to public participation and information. It is not enough to transmit one-sided information "from top to bottom" - there is a need for listening and a thorough understanding of the murmurs of the heart and the concerns of the public. On the other hand, the scientific and technological education system should increase its efforts in developing critical literacy and discussion of ethical, moral and constitutional dilemmas in the studies of science and technology, and perhaps also their integration in the studies of citizenship, economics and history.
To read the British House of Lords committee report
Panel on vaccines at the fifth science communication conference
On the coming Sunday and Monday, 3-4/11/13 it will be held at Tel Aviv University The fifth media conference in Israel, Entitled: Science, knowledge or opinion?
One of the panels will deal with the issue of the polio vaccine in the Israeli media: dead reporting, weakened discussion or wild coverage?
Moderator: Rino Zrur, journalist, Gali IDF. Participants: Prof. Johnny Gershoni, Department of Cell Research and Immunology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Prof. Nadav Davidovich, Department of Health Systems Management, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Dr. Karen Landsman, Center Medical Carmel, Dr. Baruch Velen, Gartner Institute for Research on Epidemiology and Health Policy, Ran Reznik, reporter and commentator on health matters, "Israel Hayom"
The gathering is also expected to include guest lectures by Dr. Jorge Cham, creator and thinker of PhD Comics (which receives seven million different visitors a year) and science reporter Sascha Kerberg, who turned himself into a biohacker to report on the phenomenon. Prof. Ruth Arnon, president of the Academy of Sciences, will talk about vaccine development, followed by a panel on the polio vaccine in the Israeli media. Another panel will be dedicated to archeology and its place between a scientific discipline and a tool for political confrontation, and the lunch session will provide a platform for the discussion of international scientific writings.
The second day of the convention (4.11) will be dedicated to master classes for scientists and reporters that will be given by Jorge Cham, Fabio Torna (head of the Italian science reporters' cell) and Daniela Ovadia (Italian science reporter, despite the Israeli name). After the master classes, the research sessions will take place, with a variety of fascinating and up-to-date lectures by researchers in the field.
The article was published with the permission of Scientific American Israel
