>Those who seek to shut down discussion by labeling dissenters as "science deniers" deserve to be scrutinized.

Exactly this. In line with my theory that Covid (or at least, the overall response to it) has accelerated all that was going wrong in the world, I have seen similar disturbing trends among scientific academics. That is - the science (couched in terms impenetrable to the layman) is right, actions are being taken in the best interest of all, and daring to question it marks you as anti-science (when questioning the status quo really is the essence of science). The comparison to state-sponsored religion is very apt.