Marcella Boynton, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology, talked with WRAL about a multi-institution projects that she participated in to test the effectiveness of different messages encouraging coronavirus safety measures such as wearing a mask or social distancing.
They found that when President Trump’s name was associated with the message, the effectiveness of messages decreased, not just compared to other sources, but even when there was no source at all. Research found that more people trusted health officials compared to politicians.
Regarding vaccine progress and participation, Boynton said “we need consistent messaging from credible sources and without that it’s going to be very difficult to get individuals to accept a vaccine.”
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