Ministers must level with the public about the scientific evidence

Editorial: Throughout these turbulent weeks, Britons have been given little idea of the conflicting arguments presented in the government’s crisis meetings

Boris Johnson has cautioned that a vaccine may never be developed (Reuters)

Even if our politicians are not always genuinely willing to “follow the science”, at least the scientists themselves retain their sense of professional duty.

Hence the intervention of the Royal College of Pathologists. There is an urgent need for more special post-mortems to be carried out on Covid-19 victims, the professional body has told The Independent.

Such procedures have to be carried out, rightly, with the consent of the families, and there needs to be a greater effort to secure that in the limited time available. More small tissue samples subjected to more testing will help develop a vaccine and otherwise enhance understanding of this novel and puzzling disease.