Confidence in science has plummeted. Here’s why we might want to rethink that

At the start of the pandemic, concerned friends and family turned to Jennifer Dixon for all of their COVID-19 questions: Should I wipe down my groceries? Are packages from China dangerous? But just a few months later, Dixon, an infection prevention specialist of nearly two decades at WakeMed, noticed a shift. Some of the neighbors and friends who texted and called her for advice were suddenly deeply suspicious about her intentions and qualifications. “Those same people are the ones who now look at me and go, ‘Yeah, I don’t believe you,’” she said. Acquaintances unfriended her on Facebook when ...