Britain’s response to the coronavirus at the start of the pandemic is one of the worst public health failures the country has ever seen. The opportunity to contain the virus from an early stage has been missed, leading to unnecessary deaths. That is stated in a damning parliamentary report on the corona crisis that comes out today and where British media, including the BBC, Overwrite.
The 150-page report, written by committees of MPs from all parties, states that the early approach in the UK focused on herd immunity. As a result, according to the parliamentarians, a deliberate choice was made for a slower approach, as a result of which the country did “considerably worse” than other countries.
The first corona infections were detected in the United Kingdom on January 31. On March 23, the British government announced a national lockdown. Among other things, the report is very critical of that “late” moment.
‘Fatalistic attitude’
“This slow and gradual approach was not inevitable, nor was it a result of bureaucratic delays or disagreements between ministers and their advisers. This was a deliberate policy, proposed by official scientific advisers and adopted by all countries in the UK,” he said. The Guardian from the report.
The authors of the report denounce that the initial approach was so disastrous when, according to them, there was so much knowledge available in the country. They also wonder why no international experts are involved in the British approach and why successful measures from other countries – for example strict lockdowns such as in Asian countries – have not been adopted earlier.
The parliamentarians accused the government and scientific advisers of having a “fatalistic” attitude, which made many policies unfeasible. Ministers are said to have blindly followed scientific advice. It was only when it became clear that the UK’s health care system would be overwhelmed by the high number of hospital admissions that the idea that it was “impossible” to suppress the virus was abandoned.
‘Biggest challenge in peacetime’
According to the House of Commons, the initial testing and source and contact investigation was “slow, uncertain and often chaotic” and “ultimately, the goal of preventing future lockdowns has not been achieved”. The document further calls the pandemic the “greatest peacetime challenge of the century.”
Conservative MPs and former ministers Hunt and Clark, who headed the committees involved, acknowledged that it was “impossible to do everything right”. “The UK has some great achievements combined with some big mistakes and it’s important to learn from both.”
‘Effective vaccination campaign
The report is particularly positive about the British vaccination campaign. The vaccination program has been called one of the most effective initiatives in history and it is emphasized that it will ultimately save millions of lives in the UK and worldwide.
About fifty people involved in the British corona approach were interviewed for the report. Among those who testified to the parliamentary committees were former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Prime Minister Johnson’s bungled former adviser Dominic Cummings. The latter already mentioned the British corona approach before “disastrous”.
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/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/eluniverso/E66VY2HGYZBTFIJ27FWCIITDVA.jpg "Vaccination day is held in health centers, municipal centers and educational institutions; low attendance is reported in municipal centers | Community | Guayaquil")
