Research On Public Trust In Science During The Fight Against COVID-19 In China

When Ulrich Beck put forward the risk society theory,people pay more attention to the world they live in.Human beings are not only facing fierce social contradictions and serious ecological crises,but also more and more uncertain factors and risks.The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia(COVID-19)in 2020 is a typical "social risk" event.It is not only a big test for the disease prevention and control system that China has established since severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS),but also brings new challenge to the establishment of public trust in science.In the 28 th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the 19 th Central Committee,Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping mentioned,“We must summarize the successful practices of this epidemic prevention and control,and improve the emergency response mechanism of my country’s social security for sudden and major risks.It can not only resist various conventional risks such as birth,aging,illness and death,but also deal with unpredictable unconventional risks.”In view of this,the incident provides us with an excellent realistic material for studying the issue of scientific trust in a risk society.When the COVID-19 broke out,people looked to science for solutions,but the existing science could not effectively tackle it,resulting in the public’s trust in science began to shake;when the diagnosis and treatment plan was constantly revised,the inflection point was unclear,and the virus became positive after being cured.As these issues constantly enter people’s field of vision,the public’s trust in science has completely collapsed.However,with the development of scientific research,the effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control has been proved repeatedly,consequently the public’s trust in science has been rebuilt.In the process of responding to the epidemic,the issue of public trust in science is a bottleneck affecting China’s handling of COVID-19 incident.In fact,whether the public and science can achieve a benign collaboration is largely affected by the prerequisite of whether the public trusts science.The ultimate elimination of the COVID-19 crisis also depends to a certain extent on whether the problem of public’s trust in science could be effectively solved,and build a harmonious and benign interactive relationship between public and science.Only when a solid trust relationship is established between science and the public,can scientific prevention and treatment be implemented.Through combing the state of public trust in science under the COVID-19 epidemic,the changes in public attitudes through realistic performance.On the basis of the foregoing,summarizes the three models of public trust in science in a risk society,and concludes the regular characteristics of the three trust models that convert with the changes in the epidemic.As the Giddens Trust Theory and Beck Risk Society Theory is the breakthrough point,analyzing the reasons for the transformation of the three trust models.Finally,based on the changes in public trust in science in a risky society,the valuable experience and enlightenment that China has gained in successfully resolving its trust issues are systematically summarized,furthermore concrete measures to build rational trust in science from the three themes of the public,society,and the country are presented.The recommendations provide a reference for the government to respond to public health emergencies,risk communication with the public,and conduct behavior guidance.