Economist: Are governments following the science on covid-19?

According to a new survey, many scientists believe they are being ignored

A survey by Frontiers, a Swiss publisher of scientific journals, asked some 25,000 researchers in May and June whether lawmakers in their country had used scientific advice to inform their covid-19 strategy. The results offer some support for Weber’s thesis.

According to the survey, researchers in New Zealand are most satisfied with policymakers. More than three-quarters of respondents agreed that Jacinda Ardern’s government, which closed the country’s borders and imposed a strict lockdown in early March, has taken expert scientific advice into account. Little wonder, as New Zealand has eliminated the virus twice. Ms Ardern’s response has been popular with voters, too. On October 17th she won a landslide victory in the country’s general election. Researchers in China, where the virus originated in December, were similarly pleased. Germany, whose chancellor, Angela Merkel, is a chemist, also scored well.

The countries hit hardest by the pandemic have been those where policymakers have strayed furthest from scientific recommendations. In Brazil, for example, most researchers believe expert advice has been disregarded. In America, which appears at the bottom of the Frontiers ranking, Donald Trump has dismissed his public-health advisers as “idiots”, mocked face masks and suggested that the disease might be treated with injections of disinfectant. 

THE ECONOMIST