NEW YORK – The effects of COVID-19 are still felt today, even years after the pandemic was declared over. Many of us have adjusted to new ways of living, like working from home, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer regularly. But some impacts are less visible, affecting us on a deeper emotional level—grief for lost loved ones, chronic health issues, and the feeling of lives interrupted. Recently, a rare hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship has stirred up fears that we might face another health crisis.
This fear, whether personal or shared by society, often indicates that something else is amiss. One of the most significant changes since the pandemic is the erosion of trust in institutions that many once considered reliable—science, government, and the information we consume.
Elisa Jayne Bienenstock, a research professor and sociologist at Arizona State University, notes, “COVID undermined our trust in what most of us used to trust. When general trust goes down, when there’s a lot of cynicism, who are people looking to, to explain what to do and how the world works?”
What It Used to Be and What It Is Now
Before 2020, outbreaks of illness in one part of the world rarely caused widespread alarm elsewhere. Sure, there were epidemics, but they often seemed distant. The surge in global travel has changed that, making it easier for diseases to spread quickly.
Hantavirus outbreaks have occurred in South America over the years, with significant incidents like one in Chile in 1997. However, after reports of deaths linked to a recent cruise ship outbreak, fears about disease spread surged. According to the World Health Organization, there have been 11 reported hantavirus cases connected to the cruise, including confirmed deaths.
Despite assurances from health experts that the risk of widespread infection is low, unease remains. Passengers disembarking in Tenerife expressed their fears, with local resident Samantha Aguero stating, “We feel a bit unsafe. We don’t feel as there are 100% security measures in place to welcome it. This is a virus, after all, and we have lived this during the pandemic.”
Trust in Institutions Diminished
Bienenstock highlights that three key institutions—government, media, and science—have suffered a significant loss of public trust. This mistrust didn’t start with COVID-19; it had been building for years. However, the pandemic highlighted the gaps in understanding and communication surrounding science.
“Most people don’t think of science as a process. In their mind, science is an answer, it’s a fact,” she explains. When uncertainties arose, confidence in scientific authority was shaken. “It showed that scientists don’t always have the answer,” Bienenstock adds, emphasizing that many people desire definitive answers in times of crisis.
What Happens Now?
The repercussions of COVID-19 extend beyond immediate health concerns. Michele Gelfand, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford, points out that the pandemic heightened sensitivities to health threats in ways that often don’t align with actual risks. “Without trust, people rely more on rumor, fear, and emotion,” she warns, which can lead to overreactions to minor risks and underreactions to serious ones.
Karlynn Morgan, a retired nurse-anesthetist, has observed a troubling trend: more people without medical backgrounds are discussing health issues, often revealing a lack of trust in science, as evidenced by falling vaccination rates and rising diseases like measles. “When I was a kid, there was no question you were going to go get your shot,” she recalls.
To rebuild trust, Gelfand believes leaders must step up. “They set the threat signal. They determine whether people get accurate information about the level of danger or distorted information that serves a political agenda.” Clear, honest communication is crucial for re-establishing confidence.
“Strong, reliable institutions have historically been our superpower as a society,” Gelfand concludes. “Without that institutional backbone, we lose the very capacity for collective action that has helped human groups survive for millennia.”
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the hantavirus outbreak at https://apnews.com/hub/hantavirus.
