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People lining up in a Disneyland parking lot to receive COVID-19 vaccines on January 13, 2021 in Anaheim, California.
Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images
Fear can be an effective strategy to dissuade the public from certain behaviors, like smoking or drunk-driving.
Still, professors and public health ethics experts Lauren Fairchild and Ronald Bayer say scare tactics against COVID-19 could backfire.
They believe fear-based messaging could further erode the public's trust in scientists and health officials.
You probably still remember public service ads that scared you: The cigarette smoker with throat cancer. The victims of a drunk driver. The guy who neglected his cholesterol lying in a morgue with a toe tag.