Bring in a broader range of voices to the Government's advisory group

In the last few months, Professors Hugh Pennington (Bacteriology), Raj Bhopal (Public Health) and Robert Dingwall (Healthcare sociology) have penned a number of contributions in the general and specialized press, generally calling for a more holistic approach to public health and warning against the danger of creating a climate of fear in the population. These three experts are all based in Scotland or have connections to the country (Pennington is Emeritus at the University of Abedeen, Bhopal Emeritus at Edinburgh, Dingwall is a graduate of Aberdeen), and a cursory examination of their CVs suggests that they are no less qualified than those scientists currently advising the First Minister. Bringing them in as advisors would provide a different, hopefully broader perspective on what the way out of the crisis might be.

The Scottish government, and particularly one of its advisors with a very strong social media presence, seem to have monomaniacally pursued a "zero Covid" strategy, which is a laudable goal, but unfortunately one that comes at an enormous cost that risks destroying entire sectors of the Scottish economy and society. It is not simply a case that the science advises "zero Covid" while economists and mental health experts might advise otherwise: as the three names above suggest, different perspectives within the scientific community will help Scottish government acquire a better understanding of the virus and what other strategies there might be to tackle it from a scientific point of view.