Former NIH Director Francis Collins on trust in science, how Covid communications failed

‘I’m deeply concerned’: Francis Collins on trust in science, how Covid communications failed, and his current obsession “The big thing that I know I didn't do, and I don't think a lot of the communicators did, was to say this is an evolving crisis, this is going to change every time we made a recommendation,” former NIH leader Francis Collins said. Elizabeth Cooney STAT

Former NIH director and current White House science adviser Francis Collins told a group of journalists late last week about his passion for both the Cancer Moonshot and the new biomedical research agency known as ARPA-H. But he also revealed his pain at seeing people spurn mRNA Covid vaccines developed with breathtaking speed and lamented that he and other health officials failed to communicate the ever-changing science behind Covid recommendations.

“The big thing that I know I didn’t do, and I don’t think a lot of the communicators did, was to say this is an evolving crisis, this is going to change every time we made a recommendation, whether it was about social distancing or mask wearing or vaccines,” Collins told journalists gathered on Sept. 16 for the 21st Health Coverage Fellowship held at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. “And we lost their confidence as a result of that.”

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