"Follow the science!" implies that science can determine an exactly correct public policy but this is nonsense. Public policy is all about tradeoffs,e.g. exces

"Follow the science!" implies that science can determine an exactly correct public policy but this is nonsense. Public policy is all about tradeoffs,e.g. excess deaths for economics and mental health. It has to take into account how people want to live and their emotional reactions and all the unpredictable complex effects of human behavior. The scientist can say what he thinks would happen to cases in New York City if 95% of people wore surgical masks whenever they left the house and (if he is being honest) how confident he is in that prediction. How to balance that predicted effect's benefits for society against the negative effects of requiring this is absolutely not up to the scientist and is no more in his field of expertise than it is in mine