How good is the science that informs government policy? A lesson from the U.K.’s response to 2020 CoV-2 outbreak

Jessica Cooper; Neofytos Dimitriou; Oggie Arandelovic

doi:10.1007/s11673-021-10130-2

How good is the science that informs government policy? A lesson from the U.K.’s response to 2020 CoV-2 outbreak

Jessica Cooper, Neofytos Dimitriou, Oggie Arandelovic^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In an era when public faith in politicians is dwindling, yet trust in scientists remains relatively high, governments are increasingly emphasizing the role of science based policy-making in response to challenges such as climate change and global pandemics. In this paper we question the quality of some scientific advice given to governments and the robustness and transparency of the entire framework which envelopes such advice, all of which raise serious ethical concerns. In particular we focus on the so-called Imperial Model which heavily influenced the government of the United Kingdom in devising its response to the COVID-19 crisis. We focus on and highlight several fundamental methodological flaws of the model, raise concerns as to the robustness of the system which permitted these to remain unchallenged, and discuss the relevant ethical consequences.

Original language	English
Number of pages	8
Journal	Journal of Bioethical Inquiry
Volume	Online First
Early online date	14 Oct 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-021-10130-2
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 14 Oct 2021

Keywords

Covid-19
Epidemic
Methodology
Modelling
Decision-making
Public policy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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abstract = "In an era when public faith in politicians is dwindling, yet trust in scientists remains relatively high, governments are increasingly emphasizing the role of science based policy-making in response to challenges such as climate change and global pandemics. In this paper we question the quality of some scientific advice given to governments and the robustness and transparency of the entire framework which envelopes such advice, all of which raise serious ethical concerns. In particular we focus on the so-called Imperial Model which heavily influenced the government of the United Kingdom in devising its response to the COVID-19 crisis. We focus on and highlight several fundamental methodological flaws of the model, raise concerns as to the robustness of the system which permitted these to remain unchallenged, and discuss the relevant ethical consequences.",

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PY - 2021/10/14

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N2 - In an era when public faith in politicians is dwindling, yet trust in scientists remains relatively high, governments are increasingly emphasizing the role of science based policy-making in response to challenges such as climate change and global pandemics. In this paper we question the quality of some scientific advice given to governments and the robustness and transparency of the entire framework which envelopes such advice, all of which raise serious ethical concerns. In particular we focus on the so-called Imperial Model which heavily influenced the government of the United Kingdom in devising its response to the COVID-19 crisis. We focus on and highlight several fundamental methodological flaws of the model, raise concerns as to the robustness of the system which permitted these to remain unchallenged, and discuss the relevant ethical consequences.

AB - In an era when public faith in politicians is dwindling, yet trust in scientists remains relatively high, governments are increasingly emphasizing the role of science based policy-making in response to challenges such as climate change and global pandemics. In this paper we question the quality of some scientific advice given to governments and the robustness and transparency of the entire framework which envelopes such advice, all of which raise serious ethical concerns. In particular we focus on the so-called Imperial Model which heavily influenced the government of the United Kingdom in devising its response to the COVID-19 crisis. We focus on and highlight several fundamental methodological flaws of the model, raise concerns as to the robustness of the system which permitted these to remain unchallenged, and discuss the relevant ethical consequences.

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KW - Epidemic

KW - Methodology

KW - Modelling

KW - Decision-making

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JF - Journal of Bioethical Inquiry

ER -

How good is the science that informs government policy? A lesson from the U.K.’s response to 2020 CoV-2 outbreak

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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