A group of leading United Kingdom scientists has insisted that the clinical basis for the coronavirus lockdown is the work of a large organization of experts. Epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson is just one voice among many.
More than 25 outstanding scientists sent a letter through Dr. Thibaut Jombart, an associate professor of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The debate after Ferguson's "error" - where he ridiculed lockdown rules by hosting visits at home from his lover amplified a misconception that he only persuaded the government to exchange policy.
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Prof Neil Ferguson has been described as one of the top epidemiologists in the world.
Professor Lockdown should NOT have resigned
Professor Ferguson's "secret" should not be used to discredit his scientific evidence behind the decision to enforce lockdown, experts have said.
Jombart told BBC Radio 4's Today program that he did not believe that Ferguson ought to have resigned. He even praised his colleague's influence during the radio program, DailyMail reported.
"In a time of crisis like this, I think [his actions] confuse the message of the government," said Jombart, who is also a senior lecturer at Imperial College.
Jombart defended Ferguson, saying the latter is among the top epidemiologists in the world. "We need all the assets we can use," he added.
Jombart said he and a massive quantity of peers had advised the government from the start and had encouraged a lockdown from early March. At first, the government followed a less stringent set of measures like those in Sweden, best implementing a complete lockdown on 23 March.
According to The Guardian, he said Ferguson is a very experienced modeler. "I'd rather have [Ferguson] on Sage [the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies], as part of informing the decision-making process," Jombart continued.
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Ferguson's idea had a strong effect on COVID-19 transmission
Jombart stated there was scientific consensus that the lockdown had had a strong effect in reducing the charge of coronavirus transmission.
Modeling by Imperial College noted that 510,000 people in the UK could die during a worst-case scenario without the implementation of wide-ranging measures to lessen transmission. This unpublished study led to the government's volte-face but has come under growing scrutiny.
In the letter, the scientists said that even though Ferguson was certainly an influential scientist, the collaborative medical effort to tell the authorities' decision-making was very distinct to that being suggested.
"At the time of writing, Sage lists 56 participants, and receives inputs from a much larger number of advisors through dedicated sub-committees," it reads.
The subcommittee focusing on modeling included 44 contributors. Most of whom are independent academic researchers who represent a large number of groups throughout the country and their ongoing work.
The letter said any scientific advice to the UK government, including statistics that preceded the lockdown, is the end result of the work of many researchers in the country.
In early March 2020, the emerging consensus among scientists concerned on the country-wide consultation was that Sars-Cov-2 circulated widely in the UK. The agreement caused giant hospitalizations and fatalities. In the absence of drastic social distancing measures, the healthcare devices would rapidly turn out to be overwhelmed in the same way that it was in northern Italy at the time. Although new research and facts have in view that emerged, this consensus has not changed,
