A report by the British Parliament’s Health and Social Care and Science and Technology Committees on the government’s COVID-19 response concluded that thousands of deaths could have been prevented if not for the decision to delay the imposition of a lockdown.
The report, titled the “Sixth Report of the Health and Social Care Committee and Third Report of the Science and Technology Committee of Session 2021-22,” was published on October 12. 22 lawmakers, representing three of the largest political parties in the British Parliament—the Conservatives, the Labour Party, and the Scottish National Party—unanimously approved the document. It was based on the testimonies of 50 witnesses, including former Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former aide.
The report evaluated six areas to assess the government’s response to the pandemic to understand why the United Kingdom (UK) performed “significantly worse” than other countries in its COVID response. This included: pandemic preparedness; the use of non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as border controls and lockdowns; the use of the test, trace, and isolate strategy, the impact of the pandemic on social care; the impact of the pandemic on specific communities; and the procurement and roll-out of vaccines.
The report concluded that the government’s belief that herd immunity by infection was inevitable, resulted in its reliance on the ideology of “delaying” the pandemic, rather than “containing” it all together. It said, “The UK, along with many other countries in Europe and North America made a serious early error in adopting this fatalistic approach and not considering a more emphatic and rigorous approach to stopping the spread of the virus as adopted by many East and Southeast Asian countries.” This, it argued, along with the government’s decision to stop community testing, contributed to the unnaturally high mortality rates in the country.
Furthermore, the document said that the initial stages of the pandemic highlighted “major deficiencies in the machinery of the Government.” The responsible sectors lacked “transparency, international representation, and structured challenge.” Consequently, the “operational inadequacy” hampered “scientific accomplishment.”
The report strongly criticised the British government’s delay in imposing a lockdown to contain the virus, which the authorities justified by citing concerns about the impact on the economy, normal health services, and society. It called the delay “one of the most important public health failures in the country’s history.”
The publication also discussed the impact of the pandemic on social, economic, and health inequalities. It highlighted the disproportionately high death rates seen amongst the Black, Asian, and other minority communities. Further, the report said that similar statistics of high death rates were seen amongst those with disabilities, such as autism.
However, the report celebrated the success of the COVID-19 vaccine drive, due to which 80% of the country’s adult population was fully vaccinated by September 2021. It also applauded the British government’s support to Oxford-AstraZeneca, which allowed them to develop a cheaper alternative to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. In addition, the report celebrated the British government’s ability to enhance its ventilator and intensive care capacity.
The UK has reported over 138,000 deaths from COVID-19, with one of the world’s highest death rates. Through the pandemic, Boris Johnson’s government has been criticised by domestic and international commentators for delaying the imposition of the lockdown despite sky-rocketing infection and death rates. This report will now be followed by a public inquiry into the British authorities’ pandemic response, which will commence in 2022.
UK Parliamentary Committee Report Blames Lockdown Delay for Thousands of Avoidable Deaths
The report highlighted that the delay in imposing a lockdown resulted in the country’s “most important public health failures.”
October 12, 2021
SOURCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES