Covid: UK start to pandemic worst public health failure ever, MPs say

He’ll just brush it off saying “we followed scientific advice”.
It would have been better to lock down in the way Australia did, but was that practical with the tens of thousands returning each week.

Just for balance;

But the report highlights successes too, including the vaccination rollout

It described the whole approach to vaccination - from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs - as "one of the most effective initiatives in UK history

It isn’t just headlines is it?

It is a Dad who died.

It is a Mum who died leaving tiny children.

It is a child who died leaving devastated parents.

And thousands more.

How many would still be with us but for this government’s actions.

Oh well, we are all dead in the long run I suppose.

I wouldn’t want to have what we have here in Melbourne. It is depressing and awful and although we have dodged a billet to a certain extent we have paid a heavy price in mental health and economic issues. The worlds longest lockdown apparently nearly 300 days.

nanna8

I wouldn’t want to have what we have here in Melbourne. It is depressing and awful and although we have dodged a billet to a certain extent we have paid a heavy price in mental health and economic issues. The worlds longest lockdown apparently nearly 300 days.

How many deaths per million compared to U.K.?

The only major mistake that lingers with me is that we didn't completely close our borders and quickly. No brainer.

Agree Kim19. Didn’t most other countries?

And delayed each lockdown , and what happened in care homes, it goes on and on.

But we've all always known this haven't we? It's surely not news as there have been comments on GN and in other places saying that we should have locked down earlier etc.

Unfortunately you can only make the decision that seems to be the best one at the time. In this case, hindsight shows that the decisions were wrong (as we GNers know). For many things that's just part of the learning curve. The misjudgements over Covid were devastating.

Septimia

But we've all always known this haven't we? It's surely not news as there have been comments on GN and in other places saying that we should have locked down earlier etc.

Unfortunately you can only make the decision that seems to be the best one at the time. In this case, hindsight shows that the decisions were wrong (as we GNers know). For many things that's just part of the learning curve. The misjudgements over Covid were devastating.

We’ve always “known” this but without actual hard evidence to back it up. Now the evidence is beginning to stack up and it isn’t pretty.

I am puzzled as to why people think a government deliberately sets out to kill people, do the wrong thing, and make themselves hugely unpopular. So many are so clever with hindsight. Evidence can usually only be found after the event.
If only those who began the carping and criticism had been in charge - deaths would have been in single figures and we could have shown the world how to do it. As it is there have been so many tragedies in countries all over the world; I expect that is the fault of the British government too.

The government didn't heed advice and they are still doing it, we should still all be wearing masks despite the number vaccinated.

Rosina

I am puzzled as to why people think a government deliberately sets out to kill people, do the wrong thing, and make themselves hugely unpopular. So many are so clever with hindsight. Evidence can usually only be found after the event.
If only those who began the carping and criticism had been in charge - deaths would have been in single figures and we could have shown the world how to do it. As it is there have been so many tragedies in countries all over the world; I expect that is the fault of the British government too.

No one believes that Johnson set out to kill people, but what he did do was to show a level of incompetence that is utterly unacceptable in a leader of any country, which resulted in far more deaths that was necessary.

The figures don’t lie.

Rosina

I am puzzled as to why people think a government deliberately sets out to kill people, do the wrong thing, and make themselves hugely unpopular. So many are so clever with hindsight. Evidence can usually only be found after the event.
If only those who began the carping and criticism had been in charge - deaths would have been in single figures and we could have shown the world how to do it. As it is there have been so many tragedies in countries all over the world; I expect that is the fault of the British government too.

Many people who understood what was going on at the time were "clever" at the time. They didn't need hindsight.

I was clear that the information was out there, as DH and I “locked down” about two weeks before the government.

I haven't read the whole report, just what's been reported on the report, but I haven't seen one mention of facemasks. They didn't even warrant a mention - just points to the fact that they were never of any use.

Rosina

I am puzzled as to why people think a government deliberately sets out to kill people, do the wrong thing, and make themselves hugely unpopular. So many are so clever with hindsight. Evidence can usually only be found after the event.
If only those who began the carping and criticism had been in charge - deaths would have been in single figures and we could have shown the world how to do it. As it is there have been so many tragedies in countries all over the world; I expect that is the fault of the British government too.

This thing about “hindsight” again.
What about the schools going back for a day after Christmas ??
What about schools not being allowed to close early before Christmas ?

Hindsight ? No, just appalling judgement

I think you hit the nail on the head there growstuff. I was still working in the NHS then, and there was a huge amount of lobbying from the professionals in the service to shut down earlier than we did because it was quite clear what was coming from very early on in the pandemic. Public Health were giving the messages to the government, but they were burying their heads in the sand. It was very frightening.

And….those who began the “carping and criticism” would have liked to be in charge quite possibly !!

TwoWolves

I haven't read the whole report, just what's been reported on the report, but I haven't seen one mention of facemasks. They didn't even warrant a mention - just points to the fact that they were never of any use.

You have evidence of this ?
I never will understand why people are so pathetic about wearing a mask.

Some things that happened were wrong, some were absolutely right, an inquiry highlights these things so that things can be done better if it happens again ( which at some point it will) it’s also called being wise after the event.
No government of any political stripe would have got it all right, and at least we are the sort of country that can and does
Criticise government decisions.....hope other countries will do the same.

With you all the way there Lemongrove.

But we've all always known this haven't we? It's surely not news as there have been comments on GN and in other places saying that we should have locked down earlier etc.

There is a world of difference between concerned citizens discussing the management of the pandemic and a report of a Parliamentary Select Committee (in this case, two of them). One of the purposes of a Select committee is to examine government action and to hold it to account. This isn't just some grumbling citizens, it's part of the democratic 'machine'.

It focuses on the existence of the flu pandemic planning and says that it was mistaken to rely on it; presumably the SCs weren't aware of the later Exercise Alice (which has only just come to public knowledge) which was modelled on an outbreak of SARS or MERS, far more similar diseases to covd19. No doubt because the government at that time filed it away and 'forgot' about it, as they did with Cygnus. I haven't yet got far enough into the report to see if they were critical of the government for not acting on the recommendations of the report in to the Cygnus exercise (flu), which found failures in the pandemic planning.

A couple of paragraphs which are telling. IMO
“The result was that too little was done in the early weeks to stop Covid spreading, despite evidence from China and then Italy that it was a virus that was highly infectious, caused severe illness and for which there was no cure”

Plus “ …decisions on lockdowns and social distancing during the early weeks of the pandemic - and the advice that led to them - .ranked as “one of the most important public health failures the UK has ever experienced”