Meaningless slogans like ‘freedom day’ harm our ability to properly debate the pandemic | Michael Baker and Nick Wilson

We need to keep pressing our political leaders to talk about Covid-19 in ways that support an informed debate about our collective futures

Politicians around the world have been promoting responses to the Covid-19 pandemic with statements such as: we must open up", we have to learn to live with the virus", and freedom day".

But to us epidemiologists these are almost meaningless political slogans that cover a vast array of possible scenarios, some of which are potentially very harmful, especially for the most vulnerable.