“I [Dr. Peter Hotez] want people to see us as real,” he says. “We’re not these shadowy figures in white coats plotting nefarious things. We became scientists because we wanted to do good in the world.” (link).
And that is the main confusion and the problem.
As an M.D., he (like others) is a physician, not a scientist. It is a false claim. A scientist is trained in science subjects, specifically physics, chemistry, and/or mathematics, with long and exhaustive hands-on experience in these laboratories. (link)
Physicians do not study or are trained in such subjects but study mostly to prescribe (diagnose) treatments/medicines (link). They are not trained to invent, develop, manufacture, or test medicines, mostly chemical compounds. These topics belong to actual science/chemistry experts (scientists).
In the case of vaccine development, doctors’ lack of understanding of science is evident. Vaccines, like mRNA – a chemical molecule/compound, were developed to claim efficacious against the virus or illnesses/infections. However, the issue is that vaccines have not been evaluated or tested against the virus or its infection (patients) – as the virus specimen is unavailable to test against. It is a false claim, i.e., vaccines have been tested against viruses or illnesses (link). A true scientist would not make such a claim.
Therefore, physicians should stop considering themselves science followers, experts, or scientists. It is a false claim that causes enormous damage to public health, wealth, and physicians’ own professional credibility.