Self-inflicted wounds

Abstract

It has been a rough couple of weeks for scientific public relations regarding COVID-19. Missteps by researchers and funding agencies around the origins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have provided fodder for conspiracy theorists, and caveats about the children’s vaccine have provided more ammo for anti-vaxxers. None of these miscues say anything substantive about the science and the conclusion that the virus is almost certainly of zoonotic origin and that the vaccine is safe for children. But clumsy behavior is more eye-catching than the details of research, especially when scientists are so often held to unrealistic standards, expected to be both experts in their fields and skilled communicators.