Blame Game

Politicians appear to be a touch more blatant in the USA. For example, a Dr Rebekah Jones is claiming (denied, of course) that she was fired from the Department of Health in Florida for refusing to change Covid-19 data, in order to support the state governor's re-opening plan (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/20/florida-scientist-dr-rebekah-jones-fired-refusing-change-covid-19-data-reopen-plan). In the UK, politicians are generally more clandestine but some are now claiming that they made the wrong calls in the pandemic, only because they were given poor information by 'the scientists'  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/19/no-winners-uk-coronavirus-blame-game). I have always argued that a woolly statement like 'following the science' (although it's better than 'not following the science') was always likely to be used by politicians to drive their agendas. It was evident, from the beginning, that scientific community has had to learn quickly about this novel pathogen, starting from a very low baseline (there are so many unknowns). In some cases, as no direct information was available, advice was obviously based on what was believed to happen in the cases of other (related?) infections. So there was (as there always is in any new area of investigation) conflicting information coming from disparate 'scientists'. That needed, in my view, a really wide input of information in the initial stages. I can't help but feel that some politicians 'hear what they want to hear' (that might well include choosing 'the science', they think supports their predispositions). Policy decisions are always difficult but scientists don't (or shouldn't) actually make them. I think that we need politicians (very few know much science) to get a better understanding of what science can and cannot do. If things go wrong, they not to try to hide behind the 'advisors', especially if, in the first place, they chose them.