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Everyone knows more than the experts?

32 replies

Mincepies76 · 16/03/2020 07:08

Why do so many people have no faith in the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer advising the government?

OP posts:
Waiting1987 · 16/03/2020 07:13

Perhaps because many other countries are taking a completely different tactic. Why should we trust that what is being done here is a better choice?

Teateaandmoretea · 16/03/2020 07:15

It's because they want a magic wand and a way to solve it. Unfortunately there isn't one and lockdown won't lead to it completely being eradicated as there are too many cases. But they have a fantasy that it would/ will.

Tbf we'd all like a magic wand to solve it.

middleager · 16/03/2020 07:16

Because other countries and experts are in shock at our 'tactics'.

Because they didn't even prepare for ventilators
Because there's no proven immunity to this
Because Matt Hancock clearly
petrified

Why do you have faith in this experiment? #BorisTheButcher

SnoozyLou · 16/03/2020 07:17

I know. How DARE those 200 other scientists write that letter? Who do they think they are?

They don't know more that Chief Whitty, but you know more them OP? OK.

LolaSmiles · 16/03/2020 07:18

Some people are of the view that they don't do experts so will ignore any experts on any topic because they saw something on Facebook that says otherwise.

Others are expressing doubts about the UK government's response when it is so out of line with what many other countries, including European countries, are doing.

Bagelsandbrie · 16/03/2020 07:18

We are the only country not really doing anything. It doesn’t fill me with confidence.

SnoozyLou · 16/03/2020 07:19

Because they didn't even prepare for ventilators

And they still haven't. 3 months in and they've only just started talking to manufacturers.

AnneOfTeenFables · 16/03/2020 07:20

This is a tedious strawman. Most people questioning the government's response are experts eg the WHO.

Wiltinglillies · 16/03/2020 07:20

The government chooses its chief scientists.
I am no expert, but would love to know just why our government is deciding to do to opposite to the rest of the world.

Roselilly36 · 16/03/2020 07:21

I don’t have “faith” as a lot of scientists do not agree with the line government is taking on this. I am not a scientist, but when you have experts in a field of medicine disagreeing why would you believe? It seems to be opinion led, only time will tell.

RuffleCrow · 16/03/2020 07:51

It's because they contradict the far more expert advice of the WHO.

MysweetAudrina · 16/03/2020 07:57

Because they are going against the advice of the WHO. Because herd immunity only works when you have a vaccine. Because they are talking about slowing down the spread and flattening the peak but they are not putting in any measures to actually do this and are letting it spread. Because they are not testing people unless in hospital. Because they are not recording cases. Because they are basing alot of their theory on behavioral science. Because they are not learning from Italy and China. Because they give more of a fuck about the economy than their vulnerable.

Teateaandmoretea · 16/03/2020 08:02

Because they give more of a fuck about the economy than their vulnerable.

If the economy is fucked that will kill the vulnerable.....

ShanghaiDiva · 16/03/2020 08:02

Because countries which have closed schools and introduced more restrictions appear to be faring better:
Japan, South Korea, Singapore, H.K and ..China.

Randomschoolworker19 · 16/03/2020 08:06

We're a social species and we've kind of been hard wired to do what the majority do to keep together. Monkey see monkey do.

At the moment every other country is following a different strategy and we're the only one that is doing different so it's not surprising people are worried.

I too think the government's strategy is wrong since we should be doing everything we can to buy ourselves more time to prepare yet we seem to be doing the exact opposite.

SonjaMorgan · 16/03/2020 08:07

I don't know more than the experts but I am not following my governments advise. I am listening to WHO and other experts who are showing their sources. I have a background in science. I am not an expert. But I am also not an idiot who will blindly follow unsubstantiated plans.

Grasspigeons · 16/03/2020 08:12

Because, for me, The Chief Medical and Scientific Officer will be giving advice that reflects the best advice for the country as a whole at a population level.

It will also not necessarily be the correct advice for me as an individual. For instance whilst on the whole children who get Covid-19 get it mildly - my particular child has severe asthma and has been seriously ill from mild common colds. I might therefore listen to 'protect the old and vulnerable' and think it applies to my child. Whereas someone else might listen to 'the young are mainly fine' and think it doesn't apply to my child.

Its been left up to me to decide what 'protect the old and vulnerable means' by the government themselves. They haven't issued any guidance. They have specifically left it to individuals.

So far I have just asked for an asthma review by telephone. I might decide to withdraw him from school = if I could trust other people to self-isolate their children if they had a fever or cough I would be more inclined to leave him in school. But I work in a school and know that many parents will send ill children to school to spread things around.

BonnesVacances · 16/03/2020 08:17

Because they lost my faith and trust over Brexit, their lack of integrity and their ability to lie through their teeth. I wouldn't expect them to put my best interests first, if their own lives depended on it.

So that strategy of ploughing on and completely dismissing the lack of support from the majority of the public just as long as they have the power has backfired on them spectacularly. As now they're in a position of needing the public to believe in the government and most of them think they're a bunk of lying power-hungry shysters.

Kamma89 · 16/03/2020 08:25

The governments experts are in direct contradiction of other experts.

www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51892402

Boris is a proven liar. Having blind faith in anything is stupid.

WaterSheep · 16/03/2020 08:28

lockdown won't lead to it completely being eradicated as there are too many cases.

I agree with this. However, surely lockdown or other social distancing measures would help to reduce the amount of people infected at any one time, and would ease pressure on the NHS?

I doubt other counties are introducing such measures to help eradicate it completely, they just want to slow the numbers who need medical interventions.

lazylinguist · 16/03/2020 08:29

Because a lot of people already don't trust the government, and therefore question their motives, priorities and competence over this. Because most other countries are using different tactics. That doesn't mean the UK's tactic can't be right, but it's hardly surprising that people are questioning it (especially as plenty of UK scientists disagree with it).

MoltonSilver · 16/03/2020 08:33

Because they're out of step with all the other chief medical officers and the WHO. It's like they're conducting some big experiment with the British people as guinea pigs.

treedragon · 16/03/2020 08:36

I don’t trust the government or their experts. They have lied and got it wrong countless times before.

Who remembers BSE? They said it’s fine to eat beef then it was proven infected meat caused nvcjd.

How about Chernobyl. The meat and milk was safe we were told. Then two weeks later it was being binned and poured down the drain.

strawberrylipgloss · 16/03/2020 08:37

Because it's not been proven that you have immunity once you've caught it once?

Because WHO says it's too risky a strategy?

Because it's highly likely to mutate so we could be doing this all again?

treedragon · 16/03/2020 08:38

Also they lie and get it wrong to service their own ends. AKA the poxy economy.

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