Introducing: Doubt

A few decades ago, nobody really questioned vaccines. They were viewed as a standard part of staying healthy and safe. Today, the number of people questioning vaccines risks prolonging a pandemic that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. How we got to this moment didn’t start with the rollout of vaccines or in March 2020, or even with the election of Donald Trump. Our confidence in vaccines, often isn't even about vaccines. It’s about trust. And that trust has been eroding for a long time. Doubt, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis podcast, looks at the forces that have been breaking down that trust. We'll trace the rise of vaccine skepticism in America to show how we got here — and where we’re going. Doubt launches on March 23. Subscribe to Prognosis today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Have you found yourself confused over the past year. While
face masks are currently required in some parts of China
to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus here in
the US, the Centers for Disease Control is not yet
recommending them for the public. Tonight, the CDC says double
masking offers more protection against COVID nineteen. Donald Trump tells

(00:23):
us should that we've taken I'm not taking it. I
want to encourage everyone to get the vaccine. It is safe.
Has it sometimes been difficult to figure out the truth?
I had really been struggling with it, trying to figure
out if I trust the vaccine once I sawed that video,
if I didn't know it was an R and A
what else don't I know about it? You know? But

(00:44):
it was also that in the back of my head,
why saw fast. I'm not against vaccines at all. I
think there's a place for certain ones, but I also
think some of them are not things that would give
my children. We're living in uncertain times, but we do
know one thing for sure. The only way we're going

(01:05):
to get out of this pandemic is mass vaccination. The
problem is right now, many Americans just don't trust vaccines.
What if I take it and something happens to me
down the road. I'm torn between both, you know, I
really am. I'm torn between both. This skepticism didn't actually

(01:29):
start with the rollout of vaccines, or in March, or
even with the rise of Donald Trump. This moment has
been brewing for a very long time. I'm Kristin V. Brown,
the host of Doubt, a new series from Bloomberg Prognosis.

(01:49):
In this podcast will trace the rise of vaccine skepticism
in America to show how we got here and where
we're going. There are forces that have been working behind
the scenes to erode our trust vaccines. Today, their message
has gone mainstream and it threatens our ability to fight

(02:10):
the coronavirus. We need everybody to release their fear from
their brains, get rid of their masks, goes so hug
people and absolutely say no. Doubt launches on Mark Subscribe
to Prognosis today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you
get your PODCASTEA