My real-life situation is a video from ABC News, which discusses why people are hesitant to trust the COVID-19 vaccine. Last year, in less than 10 months, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were approved. This news generated concerns in people, as usually, vaccines take in between 5 to 10 years to be developed. Individuals were skeptical about if the vaccines were rushed and not safe, or perhaps if advanced technology helped to a faster development. While scientists said that the vaccines are safe, many people continue to have some doubts about it.
The real-life situation links to the natural sciences, as scientifics have studied the virus to obtain sufficient knowledge to create a vaccine. And they have also investigated the methodology used and its effects on humans. It also has a strong link with technology, as this media has been responsible for a faster development and production of the vaccines. Additionally, it also connects with human sciences as individuals have created psychological concerns, and fears towards the vaccine.
This leads me to ask the knowledge question, “How much evidence is needed before a scientific innovation is reliable?”. This is an extremely important question to answer, as scientifics are constantly developing new knowledge and innovations, in this case the Covid vaccine. It is very hard for us, the public, to know the complete truth and process behind these innovations, thus to know if these vaccines are effective or not.
Individuals' perspectives are the ones who will answer this question: A scientist will completely rely on and support the vaccines, as they were the ones who created it. The majority of doctors and nurses will also support vaccines, as one, they are exposed to the virus, and two, they have seen eye to eye the real struggle of patients. On the other hand, humans, not related to health nor science, have two different points of views: pro vaccines and vaccine skeptics. Pro vaccine people trust scientific innovations, and reinforce the idea that vaccines are effective and essential to reduce the spread of Covid. While vaccine skeptics have doubts and concerns about the rush development and its possible secondary effects and the scarcity of information.
There isn't a right or wrong answer to this question, as it totally depends on the individual's perspective, way of approaching and accepting knowledge, and the amount of evidence they need to trust innovations.
Tok journal by Valeria. P