Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – "President Mattarella has drawn a clear line: science will not bow to fake news, and public health will not be sacrificed on the altar of political consensus." This was the statement from infectious disease specialist Matteo Bassetti on social media, following the President's remarks at the Quirinale Palace during the 'Research Days' celebrations.
"Those who defended anti-vax doctors and legitimized misinformation, reaching top positions in healthcare institutions, should now assume their responsibilities," Bassetti writes.
For consistency, resignation would be a necessary step. Public healthcare deserves respect, not propaganda."
On the topic, the expert, professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Genoa and director of the Infectious Diseases Clinic at the IRCCS San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in the Ligurian capital, also reacted strongly to the recent approval by the Chamber of Deputies of Article 8 of the Healthcare Professions Bill, which provides for the possibility of reinstatement for doctors struck off for anti-vaccine stances during the Covid pandemic.
In the Chamber of Deputies, Bassetti writes, Article 8 passed with 126 votes in favor and 113 against. The eight votes from Futuro Nazionale, Roberto Vannacci's movement, were decisive, asserting its role in saving the law on health workers struck off during the pandemic. A very clear political signal: Vannacci is making his votes count and turning a public health issue into a test of strength within the majority.
"But health is not an electoral bargaining chip," the doctor warns. "Unjust sanctions can be reconsidered," he clarifies, "but science doesn't bow to convenience, and misinformation cannot become a political line. Good politics stands on the side of citizens, healthcare providers, and scientific evidence. Not on the side of fake news to gain consensus. Scientific truth isn't decided by a majority."
"The House vote on the reinstatement of healthcare professionals against science marks one of the lowest points in government policy in recent years," Bassetti adds in another post. "Article 8" of the healthcare professions bill, "which opens an extraordinary procedure to allow doctors struck off during the pandemic to request reinstatement, passed with 126 votes in favor and 113 against. A thirteen-vote margin. A divided majority, Forza Italia withdrawing and Futuro Nazionale claiming to have saved the law with its eight votes. Behind these numbers lies a disturbing question: how valuable is scientific responsibility when it conflicts with electoral expediency? No one disputes the right to review unjust sanctions," the infectious disease specialist clarifies. "But it's one thing to guarantee fair procedures, it's another to send a political signal to those who have turned vaccine refusal and distrust in science into a flag of identity."
"During the pandemic," the expert continues, "doctors and nurses fought in hospitals, often putting their own lives at risk. Millions of citizens followed difficult rules, relying on available evidence. Vaccines helped save lives and reduce severe forms of the disease. All of this cannot be dismissed to please an electorate fueled, in part, by unfounded theories and misinformation. Science can be wrong, but it is corrected by data, not by political expediency. And professional responsibility cannot become negotiable every time it needs to gain consensus. A government can engage with everyone, even those who oppose vaccines. But if, to please a segment of its electorate, it ends up weakening the message of trust in scientific evidence, then it must explain what principles it is truly upholding."
"You can't govern a country by equating scientific knowledge with misinformation," Bassetti insists. "You can't manage public health by winking at those who deny the evidence that determines decisions that affect people's lives. Good politics is one that has the courage to stand up for science, citizens, and those who care for others every day. Not one that sacrifices consistency on the altar of consensus. Because health—the doctor reiterates—is not an electoral commodity. And scientific truth isn't decided by a majority vote."
News
webinfo@adnkronos.com (Web Info)