Attacks on Scientists and Health Professionals During the Pandemic

Scientists and health professionals have long been targeted in connection with their professional work. Though this problem preceded the pandemic, it has emerged as a major concern, both in the United States and globally, as a result of COVID-19. Since the onset of the pandemic, scientists and health professionals have been subjected to threats and other attacks - online and offline - resulting from their efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19 with public health interventions and information. Reports of violence - carried out by numerous actors, including governments, groups, and individuals - are wide ranging and have come from all over the globe. In some cases, scientists, health professionals, and other groups have been targeted by multiple sources simultaneously, putting them at heightened risk of harm.

Beginning September 1, 2022, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on Human Rights hosted five webcasts examining the global problem of COVID-19-related attacks on researchers and health professionals, along with concerns regarding repression of information during the pandemic and implications for internationally protected rights. Topics included the targeting of scientists and public health professionals for providing evidence-based health information, global patterns of violence against health personnel, censorship and the right to information, science communication and human rights amid public health emergencies, and constructing a human rights framework for online health-related speech. This Proceedings of a Symposium-in Brief provides a high-level summary of the issues discussed during the series.