In all of the history of science, new discoveries, and indeed knowledge, has started with direct observation of the phenomenon you want to know more about. Writing down the position of the stars each night, drawing the different shapes of plants as they go...
...and observing how a completely new virus affects humans. Never before has the front line been more relevant and crucial. The people looking after hundreds and hundreds of covid patients are our field scientists right now. They are the experts, and we need to listen to them.
We need to listen to what they've seen in their direct observations. This goes for epidemiogists and public health scientists who are working directly on it. There are so many 'expert' voices out there who've not been anywhere near a covid patient, let alone multiple.
People who can make claims with impunity, who will never have to wear the consequences of their words, who will never have to follow up their patients whose outcomes are a direct result of those words. Reading papers on Covid gives you knowledge, but not field experience.
So if you feel there are too many voices out there on this, try to find those that have looked after high volumes of people with covid. Or those who have looked after the sickest. The modellers whose work directly affects planning. Go straight for the source.
Dissenting 'opinion' is just that. No experience with covid, no experience with pandemics affecting millions in first world countries. Experience handing out mosquito nets in Africa is essential work, but it's not covid in 2021.
And anyone demanding the 'evidence' for strategies being tried, when this virus has been known about for less than 2 years, is operating in bad faith. Have faith in the people with direct experience and what they are saying, because they never want this to happen, ever again.
Science loses its way when we fail to place the directly observable at the epicentre of our inquiry. Thank you.
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