Follow the leader

As schools settle into new terms, it is almost as if Covid-19 never struck. Gone are masks, contact tracingA strategy for reducing people's exposure to a virus by finding out whom an infected person has come into contact with and asking them to self-isolate. and social distancing. For many, the only traces of the pandemic are increased hand washing, ventilation in classrooms and lateral flow testing.

Some think removing restrictions is a risk. There are fears it could endanger children's health. Many are calling for children to be vaccinated against the virus.

At the end of August, the World Health Organisation advised that schools should try to stay open and described vaccination as the "best line of defence".

All 16 to 17-year-olds in the UK can get the jab, as well as clinically vulnerable 12 to 15-year-olds. But most European countries, as well as Israel, China, Singapore and the USA have expanded their vaccination programmes to children over 12. 

The Joint Community on Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) advises the government on its vaccine policy. On Friday it announced there was too much uncertainty about their effects to extend the jabs to healthy teenagers.

Meanwhile, government ministers argued there was a "strong case" for rolling out the jab to all teenagers.

The row has called into question the mantraA phrase that is often repeated, like a motto. The word comes from a Sanskrit term referring to a sacred utterance. that many governments have adopted: "follow the science". Some feel this decision proves that scientific advice is secondary to political considerations.

They argue the evidence shows the only way to prevent a winter spikeIt is expected that Covid cases will rise in winter as the cold weather makes people mix indoors more frequently. in cases is to bring back social distancingA way of reducing infection by controlling and reducing social interactions. measures. But the government is ignoring the science. It argues that vaccinations are better than restrictions.

But there is another side to the argument. Some experts believe vaccinating children can help reduce case numbers across society. The head of the British Medical AssociationAn organisation that represents medical professionals. estimates it could cut transmission by 20%. That could help to protect the elderly as well as vulnerable people whose immunity is starting to wear offIt is thought that the immunity created by Covid vaccines starts to fall around 6 months after the second jab. .

Using the evidence available, the government needs to decide whether to take a risk with children's health. This is a political decision, not a scientific one.

Should we always follow the science?

Yes. While people can have different political opinions, they cannot disagree on scientific facts. Politicians should make their decisions based on facts. If they ignore them, then their policies will not work and they will have to reverse course anyway and return to the science - perhaps at the cost of thousands of lives.

No. In reality, there is no such thing as "the science". Scientific evidence can be limited and conflicting, and scientific conclusions are only ever probationary. Scientists are human beings, with their own ambitions that influence their findings. So there is no one body of science to follow.