Professor Norman Fenton, a British mathematician who is Emeritus Professor of Risk Information Management at Queen Mary University of London, joins David Scott in a follow-up to UK Column's first interview with him. We examine the statistics and data surrounding SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19-vaccines, and the failure of reason and integrity in the scientific establishment that has accompanied them.
In a wide-ranging discussion, we cover the silencing of dissenting opinion across the worlds of science, mathematics and statistics and the ostracism of those who speak out to raise the alarm; the limitations of models; the nature of risk assessment; and the effects of uncertainty.
David and Professor Fenton also examine the issues surrounding the risks of Covid-19 vaccines during pregnancy and the pressure brought to bear on the Professor, personally and professionally, for speaking out on this subject. They cover the Professor's work raising the alarm about the data concerning miscarriage and the problem of "survivor bias" which, unless corrected for, can produce deeply misleading statistics results.
They discuss the safety signals from the vaccine monitoring statistics and the Professor outlines the reasons why the vaccine programme should now be suspended.
When people look back on the Covid-19 crisis, they will ask "What happened to science; what happened to logic?". This discussion starts to explore the answers to those inevitable questions.