The complex relationship between science and policy (4) “Living With Covid” is a Reckless and Foolish Gamble

16 February, 2022

A few days ago on HIFA platform we were discussing the decline of science driven policy making, so I was interested to read and share the view of Umair, Haque (umair haque – Medium) in ---- about the current popular refrain from country to country about 'defeating Covid" - Obviously Time Will Tell. [Extracts below. Read in full: https://medium.com/eudaimonia-co/living-with-covid-is-a-reckless-and-foo... ]

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“Living With Covid” is a Reckless and Foolish Gamble

We’re Putting Politics Before Science - And It’s Going to Make thhe Pandemic Worse...

Feb 13, 2022 ·

By now, a dismal trend’s emerged around the globe. Societies are confusing declaring victory over Covid with giving up on Covid. The science has been politicised nakedly and aggressively. Pandering to a foolish notion of freedom, country after country is abandoning every kind of Covid precaution, from masking to distancing. A false sense of victory - and the bravado which comes with it - has emerged.

But you can’t make Covid go away just because you declare it so.

Covid is not over. And our governments and leaders are wrong - badly wronng - to politicise the science. Declaring victory over Covid at this point is premature. It is a dangerous and reckless gamble that governments are taking, rolling back precautions at this juncture...

Take it from epidemiologist Prof Mark Woolhouse, of Edinburgh University. “The Omicron variant did not come from the Delta variant. It came from a completely different part of the virus’s family tree. And since we don’t know where in the virus’s family tree a new variant is going to come from, we cannot know how pathogenic it might be. It could be less pathogenic but it could, just as easily, be more pathogenic,” he said...

Here’s virologist Prof Lawrence Young of Warwick University. “People seem to think there has been a linear evolution of the virus from Alpha to Beta to Delta to Omicron,” he told the Observer. “But that is simply not the case. The idea that virus variants will continue to get milder is wrong. A new one could turn out to be even more pathogenic than the Delta variant, for example.”...

We got lucky with Omicron. That luck has produced a false sense of confidence in governments and leaders and people...

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Joseph Ana.

Prof Joseph Ana

Lead Senior Fellow/ medical consultant.

Africa Center for Clinical Governance Research &

Patient Safety (ACCGR&PS)

P: +234 (0) 8063600642

E: info@hri-global.org

8 Amaku Street, State Housing & 20 Eta Agbor Road,

Calabar, Nigeria.

www.hri-global.org

HIFA profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Consultant and Trainer at the Africa Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). In 2015 he won the NMA Award of Excellence for establishing 12-Pillar Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety initiative in Nigeria. He has been the pioneer Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) National Committee on Clinical Governance and Research since 2012. He is also Chairman of the Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act. He is a pioneer Trustee-Director of the NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. He is particularly interested in strengthening health systems for quality and safety in LMICs. He has written Five books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance for LMICs, including a TOOLS for Implementation. He established the Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health in the Cross River State Ministry of Health, Nigeria in 2007. Website: www.hri-global.org. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group and the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers.

Website: www.hri-global.com Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group and the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers.

http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0

http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group

Email: info@hri-global.org and jneana@yahoo.co.uk