Diametros. 2025 Feb 27;22(82):7-27. doi: 10.33392/diam.1871.
We discuss the relationship between expertise, expert authority, and trust in the case of vaccine research and policy, with a particular focus on COVID-19 vaccines. We argue that expert authority is not merely an epistemic notion, but entails being trusted by the relevant public and is valuable if it is accompanied by expert trustworthiness. Trustworthiness requires, among other things, being transparent, acknowledging uncertainty and expert disagreement (e.g., around vaccines' effectiveness and safety), being willing to revise views in response to new evidence, and being clear about the values that underpin expert recommendations. We explore how failure to acknowledge expert disagreement and uncertainty can undermine trust in vaccination and public health experts, using expert recommendations around COVID-19 vaccines as a case study.
我们探讨了在疫苗研究和政策领域，专业知识、专家权威与信任之间的关系，尤其聚焦于新冠疫苗。我们认为，专家权威不仅仅是一个认识论概念，还需要得到相关公众的信任，并且只有在具备专家可信度的情况下才具有价值。可信度除其他方面外，还要求做到透明、承认不确定性和专家之间的分歧（例如围绕疫苗的有效性和安全性）、愿意根据新证据修正观点，以及明确支撑专家建议的价值观。我们以围绕新冠疫苗的专家建议为案例研究，探讨不承认专家之间的分歧和不确定性会如何损害对疫苗接种和公共卫生专家的信任。
