Follow the leader

As schools around the world settle into new terms, it is almost as if Covid-19 never struck. Gone are the 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 some lateral flow testing.

Some think removing restrictions is an unnecessary risk. There are fears it could endanger children's health and lead to a rise in Covid-19 cases across society. Many are calling for children to also be vaccinated against the virus.

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

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

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

Meanwhile, government ministers argued there was a "strong case" for rolling out the jab to all remaining 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 during the pandemic: "follow the science". Some feel this decision proves that scientific advice is now secondary to political considerations.

They argue that 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 Covid-19 cases is to bring back some social distancingA way of reducing infection by controlling and reducing social interactions. measures. But the government is ignoring the science. Instead, it argues that vaccinations are better than restrictions on people's lives.

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 that 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. .

So it is not as simple as following the science. Using the evidence available, the government needs to decide whether to take a risk with children's health in order to protect the elderly and the clinically vulnerable. This is a political decision, not a scientific one.

Should we always follow the science?

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

Not at all, say others. In reality, there is no such thing as "the science". Scientific evidence can be limited, confused and conflicting, and scientific conclusions are only ever probationary: at any moment they might be proved wrong by new evidence. Scientists are human beings, with their own ambitions and squabbles that influence their findings. So there is no one body of science to follow.