At every stage in this crisis we have been guided by the scientific advice and have been making the right decisions at the right time.There is often a wrong time to put certain measures in place, thinking about sustainability and everything else, and at all parts of this we have been guided by that science. We’ve been guided by making the right decisions at the right time, and I stand by that. [1]
Rishi Sunak – Chancellor
In the same piece the government’s deputy Chief Scientific Officer told the press that it would be “interesting” to explore the connection between the deaths from covid-19 in Liverpool and the decision to allow fans from covid-19 infested Italy to attend the match in Liverpool on 11 March (about 6 weeks after the WHO put out an alert about a serious health problem of international concern).
There isn’t much to say. This site has documented the negligence, possibly worse, of the UK government’s inaction on coronavirus – along with their pursuance of an unscientific “herd immunity” strategy. Even now – they are making huge mistakes; for example, they are talking about antibody tests [2] and ‘immunity certificates’. [3] But the WHO has explained clearly that no one knows if the presence of antibodies actually means someone is immune. [4] (In this context the fact that the government paid millions of pounds for tests which are apparently dud is not very significant) [5]. So – even now the UK’s policy is manifestly based on the kind of pseudo understanding of science which one scientist has said “resembles the marshalling of misunderstood or specious science into a political ideology”.
The one thing the UK’s policy has been based on is precisely not science.
This attempt to hide behind science is shameful. You cannot “follow science” in the simplistic way they say. In the field of epidemiology scientists can offer projections and models – and clinicians can offer the benefit of their experience in dealing with the actual patients. None of this provides the kind of “do this” advice which Mr Sunak is trying to claim it does. This trying to hide their reckless incompetence behind science simply adds abusing science to the charge of negligence on a grand scale.
One of the most disquieting aspects of this crisis has been watching government Ministers and, sadly, a certain proportion of scientists and medical experts on the government payroll, spinning for all they are worth to save their careers even as thousands of people are dying, unnecessarily.
Notes
1. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/20/liverpool-v-atletico-virus-links-interesting-hypothesis-says-government-scientist
2. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-mass-home-testing-to-be-made-available-within-days
3. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/02/no-10-seeks-to-end-covid-19-lockdown-with-immunity-passports
4. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/17/who-issues-warning-on-coronavirus-testing-theres-no-evidence-antibody-tests-show-immunity.html – https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/20/studies-suggest-very-few-have-had-covid-19-without-symptoms
5. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-coronavirus-tests-symptoms-covid-19-testing-kit-a9470071.html