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Sixty seconds on . . . following the science

BMJ 2020; 369 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2014 (Published 19 May 2020) Cite this as: BMJ 2020;369:m2014

Read our latest coverage of the coronavirus pandemic

  1. Gareth Iacobucci
  1. The BMJ

Sounds like a sensible approach

Evidence based policy does feel rather important during a pandemic. But government ministers’ recent parroting of the phrase “we’re following the science” has raised some concerns.

Surely this is an improvement on “we’ve had enough of experts”?

True. But there’s a growing feeling that the mantra is being used by ministers to deflect scrutiny of their handling of the covid-19 pandemic, rather than as a meaningful explanation of policy making.

Is this the political equivalent of saying “not me, guv”?

That’s the nub. At a Science …

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