The Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, better known as Independent SAGE, is a group of scientists, unaffiliated to government (although some are also in the government SAGE), that publishes advice aimed toward the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

regarding the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Its name is based on SAGE, the name of the government's official

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is a British Government body that advises central government in emergencies. It is usually chaired by the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser, currently Sir Patrick Vallance. Specialist ...

. The questions raised about the transparency of SAGE and possible political interference during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom led to concerns about trust in public health messaging being raised by scientists and by the media. As an alternative, a group of scientists created Independent SAGE, chaired by Sir David Anthony King, a former Government Chief Scientific Advisor, in early May 2020 to "provide a clear structure on which an effective policy should be based given the inevitability that the virus will continue to cross borders". The non-profit group The Citizens, created by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' journalist and political activist

Carole Cadwalladr Carole Jane Cadwalladr (; born 1969) is a British author, investigative journalist and features writer. She is a features writer for ''The Observer'' and formerly worked at '' The Daily Telegraph''. Cadwalladr rose to international prominence in ...

, were a founding partner with Independent SAGE in May 2020. They continue to support Independent SAGE's social media and web presence.

Public statements

In May 2020, Independent SAGE warned against ending

lockdown A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison ...

prematurely in places like schools. In July 2020, they published a strategy pressing the UK government to achieve ‘zero Covid,’ stating ‘The prospect of many thousands of further deaths from COVID-19 over the next nine months is unacceptable,' although in the same report they noted only one infectious disease - smallpox - has ever been successfully eliminated. In September 2020, Independent SAGE called for immediate government action to prevent further increase in the prevalence of COVID-19 infection, to prevent the need for a second national lockdown. In November 2020, Sir David King stated that he was considering continuing Independent SAGE's work after the coronavirus pandemic, with a focus on combatting

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

Members

Current

* Professor

Danny Altmann Danny Altmann is a British immunologist, and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London. Altmann earned a bachelor's degree from the University of London in 1980, and a PhD from the University of Bristol in 1983 on T cell immunity to ...

* Professor

Anthony Costello Anthony Costello (born 20 February 1953) is a British paediatrician. Until 2015 Costello was Professor of International Child Health and Director of the Institute for Global Health at the University College London. Costello is most notable fo ...

* Professor Sheena Cruickshank * Professor

Karl Friston Karl John Friston FRS FMedSci FRSB (born 12 July 1959) is a British neuroscientist and theoretician at University College London. He is an authority on brain imaging and theoretical neuroscience, especially the use of physics-inspired statis ...

* Professor

Trish Greenhalgh Patricia Mary "Trisha" Greenhalgh (born 11 March 1959) is a British professor of primary health care and a practising general practitioner. Early life and education Greenhalgh attended Folkestone Grammar School. She gained a BA in Social ...

* Dr Steve Griffin * Dr Deepti Gurdasani * Dr Zubaida Haque * Dr Binita Kane * Professor Aris Katzourakis * Professor

Martin McKee Clifford Martin McKee, CBE (born 12 July 1956), is professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Biography He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and trained as a doctor at ...

* Professor

Susan Michie Susan Fiona Dorinthea Michie (born 19 June 1955) is a British academic, clinical psychologist, and professor of health psychology, director of The Centre for Behaviour Change and head of The Health Psychology Research Group, all at University ...

* Dr

Tolullah Oni Tolullah "Tolu" Oni (born 1980) is a Nigerian urban epidemiologist at the Medical Research Council Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge. She is a NextEinstein Forum Fellow and World Economic Forum Young Global Leader. Early life a ...

* Professor Christina Pagel * Professor Deenan Pillay * Professor Stephen Reicher * Dr Duncan Robertson * Dr Helen Salisbury * Professor Gabriel Scally * Dr Kit Yates

Former

* Professor Kamlesh Khunti * Sir David King * Doctor Alison Pittard * Professor Allyson Pollock

References

External links

* 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom Scientific organisations based in the United Kingdom Emergency management in the United Kingdom Organizations established for the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom {{COVID-19-stub