Swiss health minister rues science judgement during pandemic
Berset has learned to question science more critically during the pandemic.
Keystone / Anthony Anex
Challenging scientific advice could have averted some mistakes that were made during the coronavirus pandemic, says Swiss interior minister Alain Berset.
“This led to the fact that we claimed that masks could even be harmful,” said Berset whose portfolio includes health issues.
In April of last year, the government advised against the wearing of face masks, but later reversed that decision to make them mandatory on public transport and then a wider array of public places.
“The problem is that science sometimes presents some unpleasant realities,” he said. “And then there is a big temptation to say the experts have no clue, or they are just seeking to raise their profiles. Although in reality this is not about trust in science but just because it doesn’t all fit into one’s own worldview.”
“Trying to silence or censor unpleasant facts is not the right way.” Individual responsibility can only work “if people can get their own informed overview and all these evaluations are on the table”.
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“No,” say the Swiss government and the WHO; “yes,” say some European governments and Swiss politicians; “yes and no,” say many opinionated readers.
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