Opinion Today: Fluoride, vaccines and raw milk are three different things

So talking about them differently might help restore trust in public health authorities.

View in browser|nytimes.com November 13, 2024 By Alexandra Sifferlin Health and Science Editor, Opinion President-elect Donald Trump has said that he will let Robert Kennedy Jr. "go wild on health," which has raised alarms for many because of views Kennedy has shared on public health mainstays like water fluoridation. But Kennedy's skepticism isn't unique to him. Rather, distrust of authority, particularly when it comes to public health issues, has found purchase among Americans across the political spectrum. How can that trust be regained? In an essay for Times Opinion, the economist Emily Oster argues that experts and agencies often communicate about health topics in overly rigid, black-and-white terms. "In the end, advice for a range of topics is delivered with the same level of confidence and, seemingly, the same level of importance," she writes. There's real risk to this approach, Oster argues. In a world where people often do their own research, the demand for nuance is clear. "The problem is that when people find one piece of guidance is overstated, they may begin to distrust everything," she writes. Oster believes that people who question health advice shouldn't be summarily labeled conspiracists and should have their concerns taken seriously. She also calls for a better way to handle public health communication on controversial topics, one that acknowledges uncertainties and provides context without overstatement. "This means communicating that sometimes the evidence is uncertain or complicated and may even change over time," she writes. "It may mean acknowledging that reasonable people may make different choices on a given issue." Brushing off the skepticism of figures like Kennedy and their followers won't help experts regain public trust, Oster argues. To illustrate her point, she dives into three hotly debated health issues Kennedy often raises: water fluoridation, vaccines and raw milk. 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