Cary Funk, Pew Research Center: It Can Be Confusing

Published: Nov. 16, 2021, 3:21 p.m.

In this crossover episode with the\xa0CSIS Coronavirus Crisis Update Podcast,\xa0we asked Cary Funk, Pew Research Center, to make sense of how the pandemic has impacted our society and American opinion as we approach the pandemic\u2019s two years. \u201cIt can be confusing.\u201d Polarization now increasingly aligns between the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated, versus simple partisan identity. At the fundamental level, Americans are split over whether Covid-19 is a common problem. Does the \u201cBig Lie\u201d bleed over into the field of public health? \u201cIt\u2019s all complicated.\u201d \u201cThe political lens\u201d increasingly encompasses so much of public health, accelerating the erosion of public trust and confidence in science, a trend that had already been underway for years. False statements can travel the globe in 48 hours, but knowing the impact is much more difficult. Are we at a turning point, a softening of polarization? \u201cWe need to wait and see.\u201d Heightened US international engagement enjoys majority support and has not become politicized. What is the impact of the loss of 757,000 lives on opinion? We have to continue looking at that.\xa0\nCary Funk is director of science and society research at the Pew Research Center.