Scientific evidence, accredited knowledge, and the academic narrative of the pandemic

Abstract

The second edition of the National Congress on Science and Technology (CONACIETI), organized by the Central American Technological University (UNITEC), was held virtually on October 22 and 23. The renowned Honduran-British scientist Dr. Sir Salvador Moncada served as the international keynote speaker at the opening of this important academic and scientific event. This event served as a showcase for the presentation and discussion of research work in various thematic areas from the Honduran scientific community. Dr. Moncada’s lecture serves as the basis for this discussion, focusing on the academic and scientific narrative related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This article does not aim to provide a state-of-the-art overview of the subject, but rather to sketch out, in a free-form manner, reflective lines of thought regarding an important aspect that emerges from the points raised by Dr. Moncada in his speech, which could well be summarized in one of his most interesting phrases: “scientific evidence is absolutely necessary, especially when human lives are at stake.” This assertion may well be analogous in its sense and meaning to the image captured by Eugène Delacroix in 1830, La liberté guidant le peuple (Liberty Leading the People). The guidance provided by data grounded in proven knowledge and expertise stands as a beacon in times of extreme global crisis, when the coordination of public policies between nation-states and their peoples has collapsed like a house of cards—with a few notable exceptions.