Expert, experts et expertise pendant la crise de la COVID-19 – le cas tchèque

The COVID-19 crisis has shed new light on a category of experts already well known in the Czech Republic, but long neglected and underfunded: epidemiologists. Faced with challenges that no one could have predicted, one name among epidemiologists stands out above all others: that of Professor Roman Prymula. At the outbreak of the pandemic, he was already part of the ministerial structure, in an important position (deputy minister), a position that had absolutely no link with his expertise as an epidemiologist. The pandemic and the uncertainty of the overwhelmed Czech authorities gave him new and an increasingly important role. When the first peak was over, Prymula left to let other epidemiologists take over. In reality, however, he never really disappeared, and his place - especially in the media - remained strong. Moreover, the prime minister offered him a new position - created ad hoc for him. Finally, during the second COVID wave, he was appointed Minister of Health. Thanks to a series of gradually opening windows of opportunity, Roman Prymula made his breakthrough. His meteoric rise, especially in the media, can certainly be attributed to his expertise and previous positions (soldier, director of a state hospital, links with the pharmaceutical industry), but also to his style (strict, even combative) and high ambition. The transformation of public health from a neglected sector to one of the most important and closely monitored in the health system is also not to be overlooked. Although Prymula was not the only epidemiologist in the Czech Republic, he was perceived as a leading, if not the only, expert. Another problem, less personal but no less important, is that in the Czech Republic we have seen the emergence of protests against the strict containment measures in the event of a pandemic. These protests are coming from other experts, particularly doctors and economists. This raises a new question(s): who can really be called an expert and on what basis, and who is an expert in what? More generally, the aim of the chapter is not only to highlight the meteoric rise of one expert, but also to explain the context, both political and medical-epidemiological, that made this rise possible.