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I think people keep mixing up science and dogma. Instead of saying, “We’re following the science,” the UK Government should really be saying: “We’re following our scientific advisors.” There is no “the science”, just scientific studies, of varying quality, depending on the field, assumptions and inputs. Science is not an absolute; it needs people to interpret and apply scientific knowledge appropriately, depending on ever-changing circumstances. Medicine often involves weighing up different possible outcomes.

Unfortunately, governments presenting a simplistic binary view to the public, leads to demagogues posing simplistic contrarian arguments to their followers, which completely mischaracterise the issues at hand. Fortunately, people are starting to challenge the demagogues. Research is a progression, but the spike is still real for overwhelmed healthcare systems. Even the best education your country has to offer can’t prevent the zealot drawing spurious conclusions of his own.