Hillsdale’s Academy for Science and Freedom collected more than 6,000 signatures for their “Ten Ethical Principles of Public Health” after the release of one promotional email in October.

The academy established the principles to reform public health policies following the COVID-19 pandemic.

“By putting this document out there for the long term future, more people will sign it,” said Dr. Martin Kulldorff, one of the ASF’s founding fellows. “The more people who accept these principles and discuss them, the harder it will be for future politicians and public health officials to violate them.”

Fewer than 400 people signed the principles after founding fellows Kulldorff and doctors Scott Atlas and Jay Bhattacharya released them on Aug. 23. After sending one promotional email to Hillsdale donors in October, the number of signatures skyrocketed, according to Amanda Kitchen, ASF’s organizational developmental lead.

Kitchen said traditionally accepted standards between science and ethics became blurred during the pandemic.

“Ten Ethical Principles of Public Health is not a revolutionary document,” Kitchen said. “These are previously fundamental tenets of public health that were widely accepted before the pandemic — and in early 2020, they suddenly became verboten.”

Kitchen said the high rate of signatures shows Americans are relieved to see ASF attempting to right the wrongs of COVID-19.

“I think many are relieved to see ASF attempting to right this wrong and restore integrity to the practice of public health,” she said, “and they want to add their voice to the growing chorus of supporters.”

Sarah Grablick, the college’s director of digital communication and promotion, said the academy strives to bring awareness to the public’s distrust of healthcare policies.

“We thought the Ethical Principles were an important statement that had been made not only by the fellows, but by all the other health care folks who wrote it with them,” Grablick said.

The principles are giving the public the tools to face future health crises, according to Kitchen.

“People’s lives have been directly affected by unethical public health policies,” Kitchen said. “The public has done their homework, is bringing knowledge to the table, and is hungry for action, which was evident in the response.”