The government dithers and delays, but the UK needs a Covid public inquiry now | Marcus Shepheard

The longer the wait, the greater the danger that the next unexpected health crisis will be mishandled

It is time for a public inquiry. The coronavirus crisis has been an extraordinary period for the UK, and the toll substantial. More than 127,000 people have died, children have lost years of education, and we have seen the largest drop in GDP since consistent records began more than half a century ago.

There have been myriad other harms to individual livelihoods, and to wellbeing. Much of this flows from decisions made in Whitehall. While the government has done some things well – the vaccine programme is an undisputed success so far – there are sincere, legitimate questions about many of its other choices.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus | The Guardian

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The world’s economic recovery from Covid-19 looks likely to be uneven | Nouriel Roubini

The bounce-back will be stronger in the US and China, but Europe and Japan face a slower restart Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage After the most severe global recession in decades, private and official forecasters are increasingly optimistic that world output will recover strongly this year and thereafter. But the coming expansion will be unevenly distributed, both across and within economies. Whether the recovery is V-shaped (a strong return to above-potential growth), U-shaped (a more anemic version of the V) or W-shaped (a double-dip recession) will depend on several factors across different economies and regions. With the coronavirus still running rampant in many countries, one key question is whether the emergence of virulent new strains will trigger repeated stop-and-go cycles, as we’ve seen in some cases where economies reopened too soon. One particularly ominous possibility is that more vaccine-resistant variants appear, heightening the urgenc...
Read more

In spite of Omicron, Britain’s schools must remain open | Devi Sridhar

Home schooling harms children. And we now have the knowhow and tools to mitigate the risks from Covid We still don’t know how severe the Omicron wave will be, and debates are raging about closing nightclubs, alcohol curfews and work-from-home guidance. It can sometimes feel like last Christmas all over again. But one decision should be clear. Given the tools and knowledge we have now, school closures should be off the table. Why were schools closed at all in previous lockdowns? The best approach was to minimise risk , given the limited knowledge about Covid-19 transmission and with no vaccination available to protect against severe health outcomes and death. Concerns about many different groups factored into policy decisions on schools. Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Continue reading... Coronavirus | The Guardian
Read more

It’s good Biden is suspending vaccine patents. But the whole rotten system needs overhaul | David Adler and Mamka Anyona

US tax dollars helped create the Moderna vaccine – and 59% of Americans say Moderna share its vaccine technology with manufacturers worldwide On 2 October – seven months and over 2,000,000 Covid-19 deaths ago – the governments of India and South Africa petitioned the World Trade Organization to issue a temporary waiver on the Trips Agreement and ensure the “unhindered global sharing of technology and know-how … for the handling of Covid-19”. Back then, no vaccine had been approved for the prevention of the spread of the virus. But the 100 countries that joined the October petition over the following months knew then what has become apparent to everyone now: the system of pharmaceutical patents is a killing machine. There is now broad and growing support for the Trips waiver – among doctors , Nobel laureates , senators and a large majority of the US public . On Wednesday, the Biden administration finally announced its intention to support some version of the proposal, changing cours...
Read more