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New Found Pandemic
Fame For Epidemiologists Has Its Challenges And Rewards
How would you like to
be recognized at the supermarket for your epidemiologic expertise and
be told “I love you” or to become a household name in your area?
That’s the experience of several Australian epidemiologists who have
become resource persons for the media and the public during the COVID
pandemic. A recent article in the US edition of The Guardian
chronicles these experiences for several Australian epidemiologists
during the pandemic. Among them are the following:
Catherine Bennett,
the inaugural chair in epidemiology at Deakin University, has given
media interviews and written analysis during the pandemic. Says
Bennett, “As a researcher at a university…you want to actually make
people’s lives healthier and safer. But you rarely get to hear from
the public in the way we are now. It’s a mark of how strange these
time are, but at the same time it’s the bit that reinforces your drive
to contribute…It’s just been an extraordinary time to be thrust in the
middle in a public role…that somehow connects you across all of this.”
Mary-Louise McLaws,
professor of epidemiology at the University of New South Wales (NSW),
member of a NSW COVID taskforce, and a WHO COVID advisor, told the
Guardian “People will come up and say, ‘thank you very much for
talking to us apolitically’, or ‘you make me feel calm about what’s
happening’…When I’m asked for opinions in Australia, I have been
criticized that I’m not considering the economy or mental health. But
I try to remind the listeners or readers that that’s not part of an
epidemiologist’s responsibility—that’s leadership. So you focus on one
thing only, and that is your understanding of outbreak and pandemic
management.”
Not all of the experts
profiled in the article are equally focused on being apolitical in
giving advice or on being single-mindedly focused on the science.
Sharon Lewin, an infectious disease physician and inaugural
director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
describes her role a bit differently. She told the Guardian “I think
my role as a scientist is to ensure that the government and leaders
have access to the best synthesis of science at the time, and for
their policy to be influenced by the science…You can’t beat a public
health crisis with science alone. You need political leadership, and
you need civil society.”
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