Independent SAGE

{{short description|Independent group of scientists}}

{{Use British English|date=November 2020}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

File:Indie SAGE website logo.png

The Independent Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, better known as Independent SAGE, is a group of scientists, unaffiliated to government (although some are also in the government SAGE), that publishes advice aimed toward the UK government regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Its name is based on SAGE, the name of the government's official Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

The questions raised about the transparency of SAGE{{cite web |last1=Landler |first1=Mark |last2=Castle |first2=Stephen |title=The Secretive Group Guiding the U.K. on Coronavirus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/world/europe/uk-coronavirus-sage-secret.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=25 April 2020 |date=23 April 2020}} and possible political interference{{cite web |title=Revealed: Cummings is on secret scientific advisory group for Covid-19 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/24/revealed-dominic-cummings-on-secret-scientific-advisory-group-for-covid-19 |work=The Guardian |access-date=25 April 2020 |date=24 April 2020}}{{cite news|date=25 April 2020|title=Dominic Cummings attended meetings of scientific advisory group, No10 admits|work=ITV News|url=https://www.itv.com/news/2020-04-25/dominic-cummings-attended-meetings-of-scientific-advisory-group-no-10-admits/|quote=Mr Cummings' attendance has been criticised, with many suggesting it could have politicised decision making.}} during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom led to concerns about trust in public health messaging being raised by scientists and by the media. As an alternative, a group of scientists created Independent SAGE, chaired by Sir David Anthony King, a former Government Chief Scientific Advisor, in early May 2020 to "provide a clear structure on which an effective policy should be based given the inevitability that the virus will continue to cross borders".{{cite web | url=https://www.independentsage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Independent-SAGE-Report.pdf | publisher=Independent SAGE | date=12 May 2020 | title=COVID-19: what are the options for the UK? Recommendations for government based on an open and transparent examination of the scientific evidence | accessdate=9 January 2022 }}

The non-profit group The Citizens, created by The Observer journalist and political activist Carole Cadwalladr,{{cite journal |last= Clarke |first=Laurie |date=1 November 2021 |title=Covid-19's rebel scientists: has iSAGE been a success? |url=https://www.bmj.com/content/375/bmj.n2650 |journal=BMJ |language=en |volume=375 |pages=n2650 |doi=10.1136/bmj.n2650 |issn=1756-1833 |pmid=34725051 |s2cid=240290264 |accessdate=22 January 2023|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }} were a founding partner with Independent SAGE in May 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.independentsage.org/independent-sage/|title=What is Independent SAGE? | Independent SAGE}} They continue to support Independent SAGE's social media and web presence.

The role of Independent SAGE in the pandemic was not without controversy. For example, the UK's Chief Scientific Advisor Patrick Vallance has stated{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/24/sage-warned-independent-sage-name-would-cause-confusion-patrick-vallance-david-king|title=Sage warned Independent Sage its name would cause confusion, says Vallance|date=24 March 2023}} that he warned the group that their name could cause confusion with the official body. Emails published at the UK COVID Public Inquiry show that overlap in membership between Independent SAGE subgroups and official bodies caused confidentiality concerns about Government documents being shared with the group.{{Cite web|url=https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/18145510/INQ000196969-1.pdf"|title=Emails between James Rubin (SAGE) and Patrick Vallance (GO Science), regarding SPI-B structures, dated 19/06/2020|accessdate=26 June 2024}}