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If unfiltered musings from experts in different specialities debating the AstraZeneca vaccine are making you anxious, here are some tips—a short thread.
1. Remember: each of the players is speaking from their own narrow range of expertise, which leads to a correspondingly narrow perspective. They will see things differently and value different things than each other (e.g., math vs. individual risk vs. collective risk).
2. The kinds of debates you're seeing in public are totally normal in science. They're just usually not public. These debates are how scientific knowledge is made and remade, especially in new or quickly changing situations (like COVID-19). It can be unsettling but it's normal.
3. The unfiltered musings are just that: unfiltered. Tweets are not subject to expert peer review. This is good and bad. You can see incredibly smart people thinking out loud at a time when things are scary and confusing but remember that you're not always their target audience.
3 cont. We communicate differently depending on who we're speaking to. These experts are often speaking to people they assume share their expertise, values, and priorities. If yours differ, then you're not their target audience and their statements will land differently.
4. Clout is an issue on social media. Some people will try to get it. Even scientists. Remember: it's not always just about facts. Facts only exist in social context.
5. If one or more commentators consistently make you anxious, mute them! There's enough chatter going on that you won't lose anything important by missing that one person's fiery hot takes.
6. Find trusted science communicators to help you put all the noise in context. Scientists are awesome but they're experts in *science,* not (usually) experts in communication or ethics or history or all the other social stuff that is relevant to a pandemic.
There are other tips too but my beloved has made me Mother's Day pancake while my ungrateful teen sleeps so let me know what tips you would add to this list!
Here's an excellent example of nuanced, thoughtful, and accessible public communication about AZ concerns from @MPaiMD (with a nod to the wonderful scientist and science communicator, @heysciencesam). https://twitter.com/MPaiMD/status/1391566674336362497?s=20
