The coronavirus pandemic created a situation in which virological and epidemiological science became highly politically relevant but was uncertain and fragmented. This raises the question as to how science could inform policymaking and public debate on societal crisis management. Based on an online survey of Germans (N = 1513) representative for age, gender, education, and place of residence, we investigate citizens’ prescriptive views of the relationships between science, policymaking, and the media. Views differ depending on their informational needs and epistemic beliefs. People with a need for definite information and a view of scientific knowledge as static wanted scientists to dominate policymaking and journalists to deliver definite information about the coronavirus. People with an informational need to construct their own opinions wanted journalists to question policy and scientific advice. Furthermore, they rejected the idea of scientists dominating policymaking. Results are discussed with reference to theories of science and democracy.

冠状病毒大流行造成了一种情况，病毒学和流行病学在政治上变得高度相关，但不确定且支离破碎。这就提出了一个问题，即科学如何为有关社会危机管理的决策和公众辩论提供信息。基于对德国人（N = 1513）代表年龄，性别，教育程度和居住地，我们研究了公民对科学，政策制定和媒体之间关系的规定性看法。不同的观点取决于他们的信息需求和认知信念。那些需要确定信息并希望科学知识为静态的人们希望科学家在决策中占主导地位，而新闻工作者则要提供有关冠状病毒的确定信息。有信息需求的人需要建立自己的观点，他们希望记者质疑政策和科学建议。此外，他们拒绝了科学家主导决策的想法。参考科学和民主理论讨论了结果。