Editor’s note (July 27): Read the response to this article, “Opinion: Hold Animal Use Committees Accountable for Their Failures,” by PETA advisor Lisa Jones-Engel, here.
The escalating harassment of scientists and public health officials has become a sinister and alarming trend. According to a recent study released by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, there were 1,499 unique reports of harassment across local health departments in the US during the initial stages of the pandemic. Academic researchers—especially infectious disease experts who publicly urged vaccinations and mask-wearing—experienced this growing rage as well. A report published in the March 24, 2022 issue of Science revealed that threats and harassment of researchers is on the rise, with 38 percent of surveyed scientists reporting at least one type of recent attack, including insults and death threats.
While this may seem like a unique, new challenge for the science community, it’s not. Researchers ...
