latest COVID booster.

Demand for# the vaccine has dropped sharply## since it was first introduced# at the height of the pandemic.

That's partly because the government's response# to COVID-19 ha Judy Woodruff spoke to public health experts about## that government response.

It's part of her# ongoing se JUDY WOODRUFF: In March of 2020, many# Americans were united in their fear of## the new unknown virus, as people grappled with the## images of overwhelmed hospitals# and death abroad and in the U.S. WOMAN: Hopefully, it won't be much longer.

PROTESTER: We, the people, will not comply.

JUDY WOODRUFF: But public# opinion quickly splintered,# as governors issued stay-at-home# orders to slow the spr PROTESTER: It should be a choice, not a mandate.

JUDY WOODRUFF: People took to the streets# to protest the eco of business closures, school shutdowns# and mask mandates across the country.

PROTESTER: This is a tool to keep# us at home and on house arrest.

PROTESTER: My business is# being decimated as we speak.

PROTESTER: The risk of spread# in schools is low and that we are doing to our children is high.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Leaders, including then-President# Trump, off including recommendations on masking# and other prevention methods.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United# States (R) and Current U.S. Presidential## voluntary public health measure.

This is# voluntary.

I don't think I'm going to be doing it.

JAY BOSE, Patient, We the People# Health and Wellness Center: COVID has## shaken our faith in JUDY WOODRUFF: For Clara and Jay Bose,# the pandemic marked a turning point.

JAY BOSE: We were in Nevada at that time.# The kids are being forced to wear a mask for## eight hours a day.

And I started looking# at, is there any science behind that JUDY WOODRUFF: They joined hundreds of thousands# of other Americans who migrated to Florida during## the pandemic drawn by the sunny weather# and the state's looser COVID restrictions.

It was in sharp contrast to the pandemic# tension among their extended family.

CLARA BOSE, Patient, We the People Health# and Wellness Center: We haven't lost any## relationships over it, but we# defi JAY BOSE: The relationships# were strong.

My younger brother,## for example, works for a big pharma# comp (LAUGHTER) another.

But he has not changed my# thinking and I have not changed his.

JUDY WOODRUFF: It soon became difficult# to separate the politics from medicine,## according to Dr. Joshua Sharfstein# of Johns Hopkins.

He has worked## with the state of Maryland on# public health recommendations.

DR. JOSHUA SHARFSTEIN, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg# School of Public Health: The pand of like a match th masks and people who were upset about a# particular action early in the pandemic.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And that had deadly consequences,## according to Dr. Peter Hotez# of Baylor College of Medic He researched the human cost of the# resistance to masks and vaccines in## his new book, "The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science."

DR. PETER HOTEZ, Baylor College of Medicine: The# big differential in deaths was very much on sta where people widely accepted vaccines and states# where people did not widely accept vaccines.

Well, it's my estimate is that 200,000# Americans needlessly perished because## they refused COVID vaccines after# vaccines were widely available.

JUDY WOODRUFF: A poll out this September showed# 91 percent of Democratic voters had re least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine,# compared with 66 percent of Republican## voters.

And Democrats were far more# likely to get the latest booster.

And multiple studies show more Republican# strongholds that resisted public health## measures and vaccinations fared worse in# terms of infection and mortality rates.

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX News Anchor:# Our big pharma overlords have## decided that we need to get rid of# MAN: Why do we need an experimental# mandatory vaccine fo by the way, which you have a# 99.997 percent chance of surviving?

PROTESTER: No forced COVID# vaccines for adults or children.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Dr. Hotez points to# sharpen rhetoric in the summer of 2021,## shortly before the vaccines were approved# for younger children, as a turning point.

TUCKER CARLSON, Former FOX News# Anchor: If the vaccine is effective,## there is no reason for avoid physical contact.

So maybe it doesn't# work, and they're simply not tell DR. PETER HOTEZ: Well, there was an entire# ecosystem of elected officials on the far right,## together with FOX News and other news# outlets.

It was a predatory, organized,## and deliberate disinformation campaign that# convinced Americans that the vaccines didn't## work or weren't safe, and they believed# it, and they paid for it with their lives.

GOV.

RON DESANTIS (R-FL), Presidential# Candidate: I have got a lot of people## ask questions ab JUDY WOODRUFF: Just three months ago, Florida# Governor Ron DeSantis and his surgeon general,## Joseph Ladapo, recommended against the# booster for healthy people under age 65.

Their guidance directly contradicts# CDC recommendations, but didn't go## far enough for Vic Mellor, a former Marine,# businessman, and Trump who financed the We## the People Clinic in Sarasota County.# He is against any COVID vaccination.

Mellor and his staff are leading the charge in# what they call the medical freedom movement,## skeptical of the medical establishment and# their recommendations on COVID-19 prevention## and treatment methods.

They also promote# non-traditional health care, including## I.V.

therapy and drugs like ivermectin,# which is not approved to treat COVID.

All the research that's gone into the# vaccines, you still believe that it's harmful?

VIC MELLOR, Co-Founder, We the People Health# and Wellness Center: Absolutely harmful,## yes.

I don't believe JUDY WOODRUFF: His skepticism goes beyond COVID.# In the same building that houses the he set up a political operation,# what he calls a guard the vote war## room.

He says it will help monitor# potential election fraud in 2024.

VIC MELLOR: But it's going to be a training# program for law enforcement and poll workers## and precinct workers to identify when# something is -- when a law is being broken.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Down the hall, a podcast# studio for Michael Flynn, who denies the## results of the 2020 election.

He served as# President Trump's national security adviser,## before facing various criminal charges,# which Mr. Trump then pardoned him for.

Mellor told me, while there were no# federal mandates requiring vaccination,## he felt state mandates and unofficial# mandates by employers or doctor's## offices threatened people's freedom# to make their own medical decisions.

CLARA BOSE: The nurse was so caring.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Clara and Jay Bose,# sa y they felt a huge sense of relief when they## found the clinic and the alternative it# offers to the govern CLARA BOSE: We didn't feel like they had done# enough testing in order to merit our faith in it.

JAY BOSE: None of the claims that# were being made, the big ones,## safe, effective, doesn't let you get COVID,# you do CLARA BOSE: And if you care# about your mom, you will get it.

yes, if you care about your CLARA BOSE: It seemed pretty manipulative JAY BOSE: Yes.

JUDY W JAY BOSE: We did not get the COVID vaccine# shots for our kids or for ourselves.

And## we had COVID, two days, three days# of some coughing and like a flu.

(CROSSTALK) JAY BOSE: And that was it.

JUDY WOODRUFF: T shares their doubts about the vaccine.

DR. RENATA MOON, We the People Health and# Wellness Center: I have childhood vaccines for my whole like everybody.

And it became clear to me from# the data that we had from our government that## this COVID infection really wasn't a threat to# our nation's children in terms of fatalities.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Just under 1,900 children have died# from COVID in the U.S. since the pandemic began.

But for this mRNA vaccine, Dr.

Moon says# her greatest worry lies in what she called## deadly side effects, including inflammation of# the heart muscle, or myocarditis.

The Centers## for Disease Control maintains it is a very rare# occurrence, that, in fact, cases occurring after## vaccination have generally been less severe than# myocarditis caused by a viral COVID infection.

The CDC adds that it and the Food and Drug# Administration will continue to monitor for## and evaluate reports of myocarditis.

But Dr.# Moon says, when she raised these concerns,## she was fired from her job in Washington# state, where she previously practiced.

DR. RENATA MOON: The medical school that# terminated my employment sent the message that,## if you dare question anything related# to COVID, if you dare color the lines of what is allowed, what the main# narrative is, then you will be punished, right?

And this is a dangerous place for us# to be right now in America with this## idea that we can't question anything and# that our own physicians can't question## what they're seeing right in front of their eyes.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Are there things co uld have done differently that# would have changed the outcome here?

DR. JOSHUA SHARFSTEIN: One of the key things that# can help people come together is tra transparency about what's being considered# and an open discussion of the pros and cons.

And, oftentimes, I think public health# officials, and not just public health officials,## but also elected officials, just announce things.# Like, today, here's what we're going to d instead, you say, here's what we're# thinking, we could do this or we## could do that, then people respond to that by# appreciating the bind that gove There's often no perfect answer.

Personally,## I think one misstep was not doing more# propos JUDY WOODRUFF: Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said# that this initial lack of transparency and## conflicting advice may have contributed# to the skepticism of the vaccines.

In a recent move toward greater transparency,# an open difference of views has arisen among## scientists over at what age otherwise healthy# individuals need the latest COVID vaccine shot,## with the CDC recommending it for# everyone 6 months of age and up,## while several European countries,# the World Health Organization,## and a prominent U.S. pediatrician say# it's not necessary for young people.

For his part, Dr. Peter Hotez worries# that our experience with the COVID-19## pandemic and the ongoing questioning and# even threatening of scientists and public## health officials will thwart the U.S.# response to the next health emergency.

DR. PETER HOTEZ: I don't see# things getting better anytime soon.

And the evidence for that is, if you look# at the percentage the bivalent booster last September# in 2022, when it was made available,## only about 20 percent of eligible# Americans took it.

And in terms## of this new annual immunization, I# took it and about six other people.

So I'm really concerned we're going# to start the next pandemic with two## strikes.

So I think it's going to be# much tougher now to convince Americans## to take vaccines because of the damage done# from this predatory anti-vaccine campaign.

JUDY WOODRUFF: One more potential# divide in an already divided nation.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Judy Woodruff in# Baltimore, Maryland, and Sarasota County, Florida.