Politicats offlinr1/19/2023 ![]() ![]() The complexities we are facing today have been partly caused by us not taking political decision making more seriously as a core part of public health. But Naomi Nathan argued that the public health community must learn to think more about the intersection between politics and health. There is no simple way to turn off a pandemic. At the World Congress on Public Health last week, Josep Figueras and Luis Eugenio de Souza discussed the difficulties of taking decisions about managing COVID-19 in the face of extreme uncertainty. And many Swedish scientists believe that too many citizens have needlessly died from a policy that didn't take the consequences of COVID-19 seriously. Swedish Somali and Syrian migrant communities have been harshly hit. There have been more cases of paediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome. (Those calling for the UK to adopt the Swedish model should instead be asking why Germany's death rate is 11♸0 per 100 000, or why Japan's is 1♳2.) By following a strategy of herd immunity, deaths in Swedish care homes have been especially severe. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, deaths per 100 000 population in Sweden are 58♱2. But, again, the facts are inconveniently opposite to what many critics suggest. Sweden is held as an example of an alternative strategy. And it is therefore government that must intervene to protect their wellbeing. The state is also responsible for the health of its citizens. This disease cannot be addressed only through individual responsibility. And the burden of COVID-19 is still falling on the frailest and most vulnerable in society. Over 90% of the population remains susceptible to infection. ![]() The system of testing, tracing, and isolating those with infection isn't working. We are moving from local clusters of infection towards a generalised epidemic. Incidence of COVID-19 is increasing across the country in all age groups. A group of Conservative Party members of the House of Lords, led by science writer and journalist (Viscount) Matt Ridley, wrote in The Times on Oct 10 that “Anyone who wishes to resume normal life, and take the risk of catching the virus, should be free to do so.” But while opinions might vary, the facts are indisputable. The attractive deceit is being advanced that individual responsibility is the way out of our predicament. ![]() ![]() But now the public sees scientists disagreeing and organising campaigns to back their respective positions-the Great Barrington Declaration versus the John Snow Memorandum. Lockdown was accepted as the only way to cut the lines of transmission, save lives, and protect the National Health Service. Back in March, we were all fearful of a new virus that we barely understood. It is understandable that the public is asking whether there is another way to manage a resurgent pandemic. The breakdown of trust between scientists and politicians is so great that senior figures in public health are being blocked from speaking to reporters, even on subjects unrelated to COVID-19. The argument is that if a scientist is a member of a group advising ministers, they have chosen to be part of the government team and must abide by a rule of collective responsibility. They stand accused of leaking documents to journalists, promoting their own personal views, and collaborating with opposition political parties. But attacks are now spreading to members of the scientific committees that advise government. Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, and Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Adviser, have received the sharpest criticism. They are seen as being responsible for crashing economies, driving up unemployment, and ruining livelihoods. Scientists are no longer seen as providing impartial, independent advice to government. “How can we follow the science when scientists haven't the foggiest.” “‘Big mouth’ scientists losing trust of Ministers.” Headlines such as these are increasingly common in UK newspapers. The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific.The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia.The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology. ![]()
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