The UK’s initial strategy against the coronavirus was a major failure that multiplied deaths

The British Government and its scientific advisers made “big mistakes” in their initial response to the pandemic. coronavirus with a “wrong” strategy that caused more people to die than they should, according to a report released on Tuesday.

The document “Coronavirus: Lessons Learned to Date”, prepared by the parliamentary committees for Science and Technology and Health and Social Care, regrets that the country’s initial approach to the crisis be basara “Adamantly on a flu model”.

The deputies criticize that the first strategy to covid-19 it was based on “a gradual approach” to interventions such as social distancing, isolation and confinement, “a mistake” that led to a higher death toll from the virus.

“Decisions about lockdowns and social distancing during the first weeks of the pandemic, and the counseling that led to them, is considered one of the failures of public health most important the UK has ever experienced “, says the document.

It has now become clear, the deputies add, that this was “the wrong policy, and that it led to a higher initial death toll than would have resulted from a more empathetic initial policy. In a rapidly and exponentially spreading pandemic, every week counts. “

On the controversial issue of group immunity, a controversial approach debated at the beginning of the crisis, it is pointed out that although it was not an official strategy, the government sought “only to moderate the speed of the infection, through the population, by flattening the contagion curve instead of opting for measures that will slow down the spread of the virus ”.

It is also criticized that the United Kingdom implement “soft border controls” only in countries that then had high infection rates, despite the fact that 33% of the cases registered in the first wave were introduced from Spain and 29% from France.

If measures such as social distance and confinements had been imposed at the beginning, it would have “bought much-needed time” to investigate the development of vaccines, treatments and an adequate tracking system, the deputies lament.

“The first weeks of the pandemic exposed deficiencies in both scientific advice and government measures,” without having a real idea of ​​the extent of the spread of the coronavirus and downplaying the role of the transmission of the asymptomatic.

“The British response has combined some great achievements with some great mistakes. It is vital to learn from both to ensure that performance is the best possible during the remainder of the pandemic and into the future. “Conservative MPs Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt, chairmen of the aforementioned committees, said in a joint statement.

Although its content is devastating with government management, the report praises the success of the vaccination program “which was bravely planned and effectively executed.”

The text remarks that “in the response to an emergency, when much is unknown, it is impossible to get everything right.”

Among other observations, “the unacceptably high death rate among people from the black, Asian and ethnic minority communities” and those with “learning disabilities” stands out.

Jonathan Ashworth, Health spokesman for the opposition Labor Party, stresses that it is “a devastating report by a multiparty group of MPs on the monumental mistakes made by the government in its response to the pandemic.”

For his part, a government spokesman said that during the pandemic they had been “guided by medical and scientific experts” and emphasized that they never flinched at the time of adopting “swift and decisive measures to save lives and protect the NHS -public health system. , how to introduce restrictions and confinements ”.

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