COVID-19: effective policymaking depends on trust in experts, politicians, and the public

Abstract

In a crisis, almost-instant choices about who to trust or distrust could make a difference between life and death. Trust is necessary for cooperation, coordination, social order, and to reduce the need for coercive state imposition. During a pandemic, people need to trust experts to help them understand and respond to the problem, governments to coordinate policy instruments and make choices about levels of coercion, and citizens as they cooperate to minimize infection. We compare these general requirements with specific developments in the UK and US, identifying: the variable reliance by elected politicians on scientific experts, worrying levels of distrust in elected leaders, and a shift from a trust-based to more impositional forms of government action (with more variation in responses in the US). While trust is difficult to define and measure, these examples show that people miss it when it is gone.

Laypersons’ Priority-Setting Preferences for Allocating a COVID-19 Patient to a Ventilator: Does a Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease Matter?

“…First, it allows to attain a more transparent and accountable process. Second, it might help increasing the relatively low levels of trust the public has in their government’s leaders and decisions, 37 which in time may improve the public’s adherence to preventive measures, such as social distancing and using a mask, and decrease the numbers of those affected by the virus. Finally, becoming familiar with the public’s preferences for allocating scarce resources might guide policy-makers and clinicians to improve their decision-making and communication processes.…”

Understanding Covid-19 misinformation and vaccine hesitancy in context: Findings from a qualitative study involving citizens in Bradford, UK

“…4 Trust in government, scientists and health professionals is seen as essential in preventing the spread of Covid-19 and implementing a successful vaccine programme. 5 6 7 Yet the spread of Covid-19 misinformation has contributed to what has been labelled as a ‘crisis of trust’. 8 This decline in trust has been reinforced by legitimate criticism of government responses to the pandemic and the exacerbation of pre-existing mistrust in governments and health services, particularly amongst marginalised groups.…”

Dangerous liaisons: an online experiment on the role of scientific experts and politicians in ensuring public support for anti-COVID measures

“…However, during a pandemic, as suggested in [15], the possibility of overcoming such cooperation traps that are intrinsic to widespread regulation compliance depends on pre-existing trust in experts, the capacity of governments to coordinate policy instruments and make choices about the degree of coercion, and the pro-social motivations of the public. As suggested by research on previous public health emergencies, public communication is key to develop trust and stimulate pro-social behaviour [16][17][18].…”