Scientific method should be applied to COVID experience

Several weeks ago I commented on the “Health Freedom” Ordinance approved by the Collier County Commission.  Since then Gov. DeSantis has proudly proclaimed Florida a “Prescribe Freedom” state and happily signed a bill “ensuring no patient is forced by a business, school, or government entity to undergo testing, wear a mask or be vaccinated for COVID-19.”  Although the governor himself was vaccinated early in the epidemic, he soon switched to mocking the vaccine and deployed his surgeon general (known for promoting ivermectin, a parasite drug for horses) to do the same.

It should be pointed out that although the Legislature and governor have zealously protected “medical freedom” of folks who find masks annoying they have actively opposed freedoms of women and transgender citizens to control their bodies.

On the national scene Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch recently described COVID safety measures as “the greatest peacetime intrusions on civil liberties in American history.”  In spite of obvious exaggeration and omission of important chapters of American history (think slavery for example) sympathetic media immediately spread his opinion around the country.

We can debate until the cows come home whether individuals have God-given rights relating to public health measures.  Broad principles such as the English common law maxim that your rights end at the tip of my nose surely should be considered in such a debate, i.e. do I have an absolute right to behave in ways that endanger others?  But the devil will lie in the details. Have I an absolute right to fly in an airplane maskless even if I may be infected?  Should cruise ships be stripped of the right to enforce a vaccine mandate if otherwise no one wants to sail?  If hospitals are being swamped with epidemic victims to the extent that normal care has to be suspended, does this justify vaccines and/or masks?  Is mandatory masking appropriate if teachers fear coming to schools and/or if the schools have so many cases they are about to have to close for some time?

Of course there is another side to at least some of the examples above.  There is abundant evidence, for example, that virtual schooling did set back student learning and social development.  Unfortunately Collier County commissioners, Governor DeSantis, and Justice Gorsuch have chosen to present only a “freedom” perspective versus a more balanced analysis of pros and cons.  They have opted to end the discussion at the tip of individual noses.

Lurking in the background of the “freedom” position is an abundance of pseudo science about vaccines and masks.  Those who believe that a teaspoon a day of horse dewormer or an anti malarial tablet will prevent and/or cure COVID spread their beliefs in spite of abundant scientific evidence not only that these methods produce no positive outcomes but also that they have significant risks.  Robert Kennedy Jr. continues to spew scientifically discredited information about vaccines.  Had physicians around the world paid much attention to his scientifically discredited thinking over the past 100 years infant and child mortality would be vastly higher than it is today.  Side effects and even a small number of deaths after vaccination are publicized out of the context of the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths averted.  Serious studies showing that masks are effective if used properly and, like seat belts, fail when they are not do not receive the attention they deserve.

The next pandemic is virtually inevitable and may target younger adults and/or children.  To prepare for that event now is the time when the scientific method should be applied to the COVID experience, to identify what worked and what did not and under what conditions.  Instead politicians are stressing “freedom” over research, ‘freedom" over considerations of social responsibility, and they are undermining public confidence in what may have to be important tools in minimizing  future deaths, crippling disease, and disruptions to education and the economy.

Alan Keller, PhD, an epidemiologist, served for 35 years as an adviser to governments of over 45 countries on establishment of maternal and child health services. He lives in Naples.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Scientific method should be applied to COVID experience