Doctors and scientists embrace politics in buildup to election

Yahoo Finance Editor-in-chief Andy Serwer, HuffPost Washington Bureau Chief Amanda Terkel, Yahoo News Editor-in-Chief Dan Klaidman, and Yahoo Finance Senior Reporter Anjalee Khemlani break down the sudden rise in doctor groups forming to either support Biden, evaluate vaccines independently, or battle misinformation. It's the strongest political showing of the health profession, which has typically been quiet in the realm of politics during election cycles.

Video transcript

ANDY SERWER: Welcome back. We're now joined by Yahoo Finance's Anjalee Khemlani, who has been reporting on different ways that doctors groups are forming to be politically engaged in ways we've never seen before. Doctors groups. Anjalee, what have you been finding out?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That's correct, Andy. So what we've seen is that there are a number of groups forming-- before-- early on in the pandemic, we sort of saw this informal grouping or just doctors getting to know each other and getting their-- elevating their voices, really, on social media platforms. And that has escalated into actual organized groups.

So for example, we already know that there exists a group called the National Medical Association. They represent Black doctors. And what they are doing is banding together to assess the vaccines, claiming that there is so much erosion of trust in the federal government bodies that are supposed to be looking at this, the FDA specifically, that they feel the need to look out for African Americans and minorities and assess the data from these vaccines.

We already heard today, for example, that Pfizer is being asked by a number of health experts to wait just another month to observe the effect of their vaccine. So similarly, you're seeing that. Meanwhile, there's other groups like Doctors for Biden that has formed to support Joe Biden, but they've also talked about, you know, crossing party lines. They're inviting Republicans, and independents, et cetera, to get on board as well.

And then there's a group called DOCS, which stands for Doctors Organized to Communicate Science. And their whole entire goal is to monitor debates, like the one tonight, as well as the conventions and help to sort of fight back against the misinformation, especially when it comes to the health care space. And of course, we know that it is so relevant because of the global pandemic and because of all the missteps that we've seen from the administration.

DAN KLAIDMAN: Anjalee, you know, one thing I wonder is, clearly doctors, and health care professionals more generally, are part of our consciousness in a way that they've never been before, every day for every American, which gives them a certain amount of power and, I guess, responsibility. And I guess the question I have is, given that there has been so much criticism of the Trump administration for politicizing public health, stories day after day about pressuring the CDC, for example, and, you know, I wonder if that has energized any of these health care professionals, and doctors in particular, to come forward and get involved because they are concerned about how health care and-- and health policy has been politicized during this pandemic?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That is. I think you're clearly seeing that, especially later into the pandemic, the political pressure plays a role. Early on, it was simply a matter of the 24-hour news cycle demanding more professionals from the health and science space, science included. We saw the "Scientific American" for the very first time endorsing a presidential candidate in Joe Biden. And so this speaks to kind of where we're at in terms of these fields that have largely remained apolitical and feel the need to come forward.

So while we used to have, you know, that one talking head doctor that was polished with their sound bites for anything medical, we now have such a broad array of individuals who have really cut their teeth in the media industry by now and are able to really articulate some of the issues and concerns, both political and non, and really stick to, you know, the core of their values in the field of really making sure that they look at the information.

And one key point that one of them brought up is that, you know, in science and in health care, you're willing to sort of rectify any missteps or are humble enough-- we've often heard Dr. Anthony Fauci talk about being humble enough in front of this virus. And so I feel like that sentiment sort of carries throughout with these professionals that I talk to, where you're willing to step back and say, OK, that was incorrect. And we're watching the scientific process just play out in a way that-- and under a really bright spotlight that it's never been under before.

AMANDA TERKEL: Anjalee, you talked a little bit about a group trying to cross party lines a bit, but have you seen the doctors who are getting politically involved, whether it's just activism or running for office, has it been more heavily on the Democratic side or have there been sort of pro-Republican groups and politicians too?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: It has been across lines, yes. I think a majority of the focus has been, and what I've been privy to, at least, has been more on the Democratic side. You see those who are concerned about the future of the health plans and the Affordable Care Act, as well as women's rights. So I think that, you know, all-encompassing, it is focused largely on the Democratic side, but there have been groups-- so for example, we saw, right, America's Frontline Doctors that was a little bit more conservative, and they were focusing on the hydroxychloroquine issue. So there have been groups that have emerged on both sides, but I think largely the focus has been on those on the Democratic side.

ANDY SERWER: Anjalee, have you thought at all about how COVID is going to enter into the debate tonight, what types of questions and how the candidates might respond to them?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: I definitely have wondered what kinds of questions will be asked, whether it is about the vaccine timeline, I'm sure that's going to be coming up, and the regulatory bodies as well. Other than that, I mean, it really is going to be really interesting to see just what-- you know, what kinds of questions are asked, so if it's about a national strategy, masking, that has been a debate. There's so many topics to really choose from, I don't know if they'll be able to get to them all.

DAN KLAIDMAN: Anjalee, what do you think the majority of doctors out there want to actually hear at this debate from these two candidates? What are they going to want to hear Joe Biden talk about?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: One of the key things that continues to be an issue, and that has been largely called for from many of the medical experts that I've talked to, is a national strategy. At this point in time, we still have very much almost a city by city strategy on how to deal with the outbreak. And while that is warranted because certain hot spots will emerge, there hasn't really been sort of a guideline, so if your area is a hot spot, these are the things to do. And so I think that that has been sort of a key call-out from the experts that I've been talking to that's missing and could be a really important key to really curbing the outbreak and helping the country move away from being number one in the world.

AMANDA TERKEL: Anjalee, polls have shown that increasingly Republicans are more distrustful of experts and the scientific community. You know, what ramifications do you think that could have on, you know, science, you know, just generally trusting scientific experts, doctors, or, you know, even a potential COVID vaccine?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: I think that your question kind of answers itself. It's all-encompassing in that realm of the mistrust for vaccines, not following the rules and guidelines that are try-- that they do try to impose in some areas. And I think that largely speaks to early on the observation of red states, if you will, were the ones who weren't necessarily following the rules as strictly, and therefore saw surges later on and continue to be lax, to be honest, in some areas. And so I think that you're already seeing that the poll indicates what is already happening and already a reality in the country.