Masking science with politics

The release of former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s WhatsApp messages in the ‘Lockdown files’ has been an eye-opener for many who are now realising that government policy-making during the pandemic was at the mercy of a small cabal who felt they knew best and who were more concerned about their reputations than the health and wellbeing of the population. As one example, consider the controversial issue of mask-wearing, where the WhatsApp messages reveal that masks in schools were introduced to avoid an argument with Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, with no consideration of the potential harms of this intervention. This is an outrage, particularly, as a Department for Education report last year suggested that mask-wearing, surely unsurprisingly, had significantly increased anxiety in marginalised and vulnerable students. Paul and Professor Ellen Townsend wrote an op-ed, which can be read here.