>>14202238While your premise about the politics leading science is correct, the course of action is no longer simple. Too many Karens and other true believers cannot be convinced that masks are no longer needed or that people who don't get injected aren't going to kill them by being nearby.
The politicians who try to appease people who want their freedom back while have to deal with a backlash from those who are still frightened and want to tell everyone else how to live their lives. They're stuck in a corner they created for themselves.