Tracey Brown and Carl Heneghan

Boris Johnson needs to be more open about Covid’s risks

Prime Minister Boris Johnson chairs a face-to-face meeting of the cabinet, the first since mid-March. Picture credit: Getty

The Prime Minister wants us back to normal by Christmas. If he is serious, then his government needs to take a big step forward in how it communicates evidence on Covid-19 with the public. Every day we get new insights about the coronavirus from research and statistics. Yet, for some reason, the government is holding its cards close to its chest about how it is assessing new scientific developments, and how this may affect policy decisions.

Government communications currently seem to avoid telling people where their risks from Covid are actually low. There is a general reluctance to speak openly about how risk is assessed and the trade-offs there are with other competing health risks and economic impacts. The key questions aren’t being articulated – often the information the government is using to answer questions is not publicised and any hypotheses about the answers aren’t being shared.

Efforts to help the public navigate these new risks are being hamstrung by this absence of open and mature communication.

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