To deal with the risk of emerging diseases with many unknowns, close and timely collaboration and communication between science experts and policymakers are crucial to developing and implementing an effective science-based intervention strategy. The Expert Meeting, an ad hoc medical advisory body, was established in February 2020 to advise Japan’s COVID-19 Response Headquarters. The group played an important role in the policymaking process, promoting timely situation awareness and developing science-based proposals on interventions that were promptly reflected in government actions. However, this expert group may have been overly proactive in taking on the government’s role in crisis management. For the next stage of managing the coronavirus disease pandemic and future pandemics, the respective roles of the government and its advisory bodies need to be clearly defined. Leadership and strategic risk communication by the government are key.

为了应对具有许多未知数的新发疾病的风险，科学专家和决策者之间密切、及时的合作与沟通对于制定和实施有效的基于科学的干预策略至关重要。专家会议是一个特设医疗咨询机构，成立于 2020 年 2 月，旨在为日本的 COVID-19 应对总部提供建议。该小组在决策过程中发挥了重要作用，促进了及时的态势感知，并就干预措施制定了基于科学的建议，并迅速反映在政府行动中。然而，该专家组在承担政府在危机管理中的作用时可能过于积极主动。对于管理冠状病毒疾病大流行和未来大流行的下一阶段，需要明确界定政府及其咨询机构各自的作用。政府的领导和战略风险沟通是关键。