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Four times we have delayed lockdown measures and so made the problem worse.
And up to now we have compounded that by doing nothing to improve our general pandemic management during lockdown so things are better when it is lifted.
Will we make this latter mistake yet again?
And up to now we have compounded that by doing nothing to improve our general pandemic management during lockdown so things are better when it is lifted.
Will we make this latter mistake yet again?
A fundamental difference this time, of course, is the roll out of vaccines. That must be accelerated as a first priority. But while the vaccine is crucial it must be part of a wider strategy to suppress infection and it is equally crucial that we don't forget the other elements.
These include:
1. The perennial question of a functioning test and trace system which can identify infections early, trace where it has come from and spread to and so break the chain of transmission. It is an enduring scandal that we still don't have such a system.
1. The perennial question of a functioning test and trace system which can identify infections early, trace where it has come from and spread to and so break the chain of transmission. It is an enduring scandal that we still don't have such a system.
2. The need to support people to do things we ask of them, notably self-isolation (without which testing is pointless). In the UK, where support is minimal, adherence to self-isolation is below a third. In other countries, where support is comprehensive, it is almost total.
3. The need to make all places of employment, entertainment, hospitality and education as COVID safe as possibly - properly supported, regulated and inspected - so as to minimise the probability of infection in the first place and hence allowing them to reopen as soon as possible
4. This is particularly critical for schools. We need more teachers and hired spaces so classes can be distanced, we need more IT to allow distance and blended learning. We need urgent action while schools are closed to make them as safe as possible when they reopen.
So far, our pandemic response has failed because it has been reactive. We have always been behind the virus, responding only when there is a crisis with emergency short-term measures. We have never had a comprehensive strategy to allow us to get on top of and ahead of the virus.
Will that happen again. Will we simply see lockdown and then the government sit back and twiddle its thumbs in the hope that the vaccine will solve everything. Or, for once, will we see the strategy and the groundwork we need to suppress the infection?
