“So there’s got to be a question as to whether there was actually a kind of, dare I say arrogance in the British scientific community, that we will resolve it our own way.” I talked to @Sir_David_King about UK’s #covid19 response. sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/u…
King was UK’s chief science adviser from 2000 to 2007. That period included an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and the first SARS epidemic. King came in after the BSE crisis had shown that “all science advisers in government should have an independent voice”.
But in #covid19 pandemic the scientific advice given by expert group SAGE has not been made public, says King. “There is a question as to whether ministers have been shielding themselves by using this issue that they are simply following science advice.”
In response, King has set up an @IndependentSage. The first meeting was streamed on youtube last week. First report on exiting lockdown should come out tomorrow.
