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Report: UK Initial Pandemic Response Worst Health Failure, Praise for Vaccination Program
By Nick Triggle
Health correspondent
BBC
The UK’s failure to do more to stop Covid spreading early in the pandemic was one of the worst ever public health failures, a report by MPs says.
The government approach – backed by its scientists – was to try to manage the situation and in effect achieve herd immunity by infection, it said.
This led to a delay in introducing the first lockdown, costing lives.
But the report by the cross-party group said there had been successes too – in particular the vaccination programme.
It described the whole approach – from the research and development through to the rollout of the jabs – as “one of the most effective initiatives in UK history”.
The report predominantly focuses on the response to the pandemic in England. The committee did not look at steps taken individually by Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The findings are detailed in the long-awaited report – Coronavirus: Lessons learned to date – from the Health and Social Care Committee and the Science and Technology Committee, which contain MPs from all parties.
Across 150 pages, the committees cover a variety of successes and failings over the course of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 150,000 lives to date and is described by the MPs as the “biggest peacetime challenge” for a century.
Tory MPs Jeremy Hunt and Greg Clark, who chair the committees, said the nature of the pandemic meant it was “impossible to get everything right”.
“The UK has combined some big achievements with some big mistakes. It is vital to learn from both,” they added in a statement to accompany the report.
A government spokesperson said lessons would be learned, which was why there would be a full public inquiry next year.
He added: “We have never shied away from taking quick and decisive action to save lives and protect our NHS, including introducing restrictions and lockdowns.
“Thanks to a collective national effort, we avoided NHS services becoming overwhelmed.”
But Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the findings were “damning” and showed what “monumental errors” had been made.
And the group representing families who have lost loved-ones during the pandemic – Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice – criticised the committees for not speaking to any relatives of people who died.
Lockdown delay mistake – but scientists to blame too
When Covid hit, the government’s approach was to manage its spread through the population rather than try to stop it – or herd immunity by infection as the report called it.
The report said this was based on dealing with a flu pandemic, and was done on the advice of its scientific advisers on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).
But the idea was not challenged enough by ministers in any part of the UK, indicating a “degree of group-think”.
Although to some degree other parts of Europe were guilty of this too, the MPs said.
It meant the country was not as open to approaches being taken elsewhere, such as Asia where countries imposed tight border controls as soon as Covid started circulating.
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.
“The veil of ignorance through which the UK viewed the initial weeks of the pandemic was partly self-inflicted,” said the report.
The committees said 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”.
The advice from scientists changed on 16 March 2020, but it was only a week later that a lockdown was announced.
“This slow and gradualist approach was not inadvertent, nor did it reflect bureaucratic delay or disagreement between ministers and their advisers,” the report says.
“It was a deliberate policy – proposed by official scientific advisers and adopted by the governments of all of the nations of the UK.
“It is now clear that this was the wrong policy, and that it led to a higher initial death toll than would have resulted from a more emphatic early policy. In a pandemic spreading rapidly and exponentially, every week counted.”
It suggests a reported crowd of more than 50,000 at a Liverpool FC and Atletico Madrid football match on 11 March – the day the coronavirus was categorised as a pandemic by the WHO – and the 250,000 at Cheltenham Festival of Racing between 10 and 13 March, may have spread the virus.
The MPs also highlighted how ministers in England rejected scientific advice to have a two-week “circuit-breaker” in the autumn.
They said it was impossible to know whether that would have prevented the second lockdown in November, although they pointed out it had not in Wales.
Asked who was accountable for mistakes made, Greg Clark, the chair of the science and technology committee, said that in any democracy, politicians were accountable, but stressed everyone, from the prime minister down, was trying to do the best they could.
“We did get some things right and we got some things wrong and it seems essential we don’t just let that pass without trying to squeeze out the lessons and confront some difficult truths,” he told BBC Breakfast.
The ‘slow and chaotic’ start for Test and Trace
The UK was one of the first countries in the world to develop a test for Covid in January 2020, but despite this failed to translate that into an effective test-and-trace system during the first year of the pandemic.
Testing in the community stopped in March 2020 and for weeks during the first peak only those admitted to hospital were tested.
It was not until May that the NHS Test and Trace system was launched in England, but the report described its start as “slow, uncertain and often chaotic”.
It said the system was too centralised, only later making use of the expertise in local public health teams run by councils.
But it did praise the target set by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to get to 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, saying it played an important part in galvanising the system.
The vaccine rollout and other successes
The greatest praise though was reserved for the vaccination programme and the way the government supported the development of a number of vaccines, including the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.
It said the whole programme was one of the most effective initiatives in history, and will ultimately help save millions of lives here and across the world.
A key step, taken early on following a suggestion from chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, was to set up a task force that combined the talents of scientists, the NHS and the private sector led by the “bold leadership” of venture capitalist Kate Bingham.
The development of treatments, such as dexamethasone, for Covid through the UK Recovery Trial was another area where the UK’s response was genuinely world-leading, the report said.
And the NHS and government were also credited with the way hospital intensive care capacity was increased to ensure the majority who needed hospital treatment received it.
How certain groups fared worse
The MPs said the pandemic had also exacerbated existing social, economic and health inequalities which would need addressing.
The report highlighted “unacceptably high” death rates in ethnic minority groups and among people with learning disabilities and autism.
For ethnic minorities, there were a variety of factors, including possible biological reasons and increased exposure because of housing and working conditions.
For people with learning disabilities, not enough thought was given to how restrictions would have a detrimental impact on them – particularly in terms of accessing health care more generally. Do not resuscitate orders were also used inappropriately.
There was a lack of priority attached to care homes too at the start of the pandemic.
The rapid discharge of people from hospital into care homes without adequate testing or isolation was a prime example of this.
This, combined with untested staff bringing infection into homes from the community, led to many thousands of deaths which could have been avoided.
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group said many people would see the report as a “slap in the face”.
“The report it’s produced is laughable, and more interested in political arguments about whether you can bring laptops to Cobra meetings than it is in the experiences of those who tragically lost parents, partners or children to Covid-19,” said Hannah Brady, the group’s spokeswoman.
The post Report: UK Initial Pandemic Response Worst Health Failure, Praise for Vaccination Program appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
Growing sinkhole in North Carolina has locals worried
A sinkhole in the Asheville neighbourhood of Montford in North Carolina that has nearly doubled in size is causing concern for residents.
"This has been a constant source of stress for two months," Nat Dickinson, who lives next door to the sinkhole, said.
Mr Dickinson said he first noticed the hole along Montford Avenue back in July.
READ MORE: Southeast Queensland smashed by a month's worth of rain in 24 hours
"Then we had those two big rainstorms in August, and that really opened it up much more," he said.
Mr Dickinson also said it's blocking storm culverts, forcing stormwater into nearby homes, like his own.
"The water came rushing down the driveway, and the backyard was flooded," he said.
"My basement was flooded as well."
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Mr Dickinson said he fears what could happen next as the sinkhole has grown to his property line.
"No homeowners insurance covers neither the sinkhole for these folks or if it damages our property or even if our house is condemned," he said.
"Nor does it cover surface cover runoff."
Mr Dickinson said he contacted the City of Asheville back in July but has received little help.
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"That's been really disappointing," he said.
"Disappointing that no one called me back until yesterday. We are 77 days in. Yesterday was the first time I had a conversation on the phone with somebody."
Mr Dickinson said an unresponsive rental company owns the property.
READ MORE: Next freedoms could come early for Sydney if vaccine rates keep up
"I've got no recourse," he said.
"I don't even know these people at all."
Now Mr Dickinson is calling on the city for help.
"Whatever happens, if you have disengaged homeowners, at some point, the city needs to step in," he said.
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A spokesperson for the City of Asheville said the sinkhole is on private property, so it's up to the property owner to fill the hole.
The city also said the owners are working with a private engineer firm to resolve the issue.
A timeline for the fix was not listed.
"It's at the fence line now," Mr Dickinson said.
"It's at the property line, and once it affects my property, you know."
He's drawing a line in the sand.
"Your only recourse is to sue them," he said.
"Sue their liability insurance."
Another Facebook whistleblower says she is willing to testify before Congress
Sophie Zhang, who said she felt like she had "blood on her hands" after working at Facebook, is willing to testify before Congress about her former employer, she told CNN Sunday.
She said she had also passed on documentation about the social media giant to a US law enforcement agency.
Ms Zhang, who worked as a data scientist at the company for almost three years, wrote a lengthy memo when she was fired by Facebook last year detailing how she believed the company was not doing enough to tackle hate and misinformation, particularly in smaller and developing countries.
READ MORE: Facebook unveils new controls for kids using its platforms
Ms Zhang said the company told her she was fired because of performance issues.
The memo was first reported last year by BuzzFeed News and later formed the basis of a series of reports by The Guardian newspaper.
Speaking to CNN at her home in the Bay Area on Sunday, Ms Zhang said she was encouraged that there appeared to be bipartisan support for action relating to the protection of children online following Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony to a Senate subcommittee last week.
READ MORE: Facebook's stock plummets as Zuckerberg loses $8b
Ms Zhang said she has brought information about Facebook to authorities.
"I provided detailed documentation regarding potential criminal violations to a US law enforcement agency. My understanding is that the investigation is still ongoing," she tweeted on Sunday.
https://twitter.com/szhang_ds/status/1447256620623302657
She declined to share when asked by CNN what information she had provided or to which agency.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment Monday, adding, "the FBI does not generally confirm, deny, or otherwise comment on information or tips we may receive from the public."
Central to Ms Zhang's allegations about Facebook is that it doesn't do enough to tackle abuse of its platform in countries outside of the United States.
Roughly 90 per cent of Facebook's monthly active users are outside the US and Canada, according to its most recent quarterly filing.
A Facebook spokesperson pushed back on that charge Monday, saying the company had invested billions in safety and security in recent years.
"We have also taken down over 150 networks seeking to manipulate public debate since 2017, and they have originated in over 50 countries, with the majority coming from or focused outside of the US," the spokesperson said.
"Our track record shows that we crack down on abuse abroad with the same intensity that we apply in the US."
Merck Requests FDA Authorization for COVID-19 Antiviral Pill, AstraZenica’s New COVID Drug, More
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Merck said on Monday that it has requested authorization from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its antiviral coronavirus pill.
Merck said in a statement that an emergency use authorization was requested “for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 and/or hospitalization.”
The pharmaceutical company said earlier this month that testing showed that molnupiravir, which is administered as a five-day treatment and was developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, reduced the risk of hospitalization by 50 percent.
“The extraordinary impact of this pandemic demands that we move with unprecedented urgency, and that is what our teams have done by submitting this application for molnupiravir to the FDA within 10 days of receiving the data,” Robert M. Davis, CEO and president of Merck, said in a statement on Monday.
Merck has said that its pill, which targets the enzyme that allows the COVID-19 virus to make copies of itself, is likely effective against COVID-19 variants, including the highly infectious delta variant.
Big picture: Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has referred to molnupiravir as a “game changer.” He predicted last week that the “pandemic phase” of COVID-19 would likely come to an end with the approval of antiviral pills as well as the approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 12.
However, he also said that 1.7 million courses of the medicine would not be enough and said rationing would be likely.
The price tag could also pose a challenge: The U.S. bought those 1.7 million courses of treatment for $700 each, and the price could change going forward once the treatment is authorized.
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AstraZeneca says COVID-19 drug helps cut risk of severe disease, death
© Getty Images
AstraZeneca announced on Monday that its experimental COVID-19 treatment has been found to be effective in late-stage trials at preventing severe illness or death.
When compared to a placebo, AstraZeneca’s antibody treatment, called AZD7442, reduced the risk of developing severe COVID-19 or death by 67 percent, the company said in a press release.
“These important results for AZD7442, our long-acting antibody combination, add to the growing body of evidence for use of this therapy in both prevention and treatment of COVID-19,” Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president, said.
“An early intervention with our antibody can give a significant reduction in progression to severe disease, with continued protection for more than six months,” Pangalos added.
AstraZeneca said AZD7442 had been shown to prevent COVID-19 viruses from binding to host cells and was able to neutralize COVID-19 variants including the delta and mu strains.
Last week: AstraZeneca applied for an emergency use authorization for the preventative treatment, citing data from a trial showing that AZD7442 was 77 percent effective at stopping symptomatic cases of COVID-19.
The U.K.-based drugmaker has said discussions for setting up a supply agreement with the U.S. are “ongoing.”
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The post Merck Requests FDA Authorization for COVID-19 Antiviral Pill, AstraZenica’s New COVID Drug, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.
Pedestrian dies after being hit by a van while crossing the road
A young woman has been hit and killed by a van while crossing the road in Sydney's inner west.
The pedestrian walked onto the road with her headphones on when she was struck just after 10am today.
She was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.
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"It was a very sombre scene for our paramedics and bystanders here this morning," Inspector Karl Cronan from NSW Ambulance said.
"The bystanders who attempted to assist the patient before we arrived on scene are to be highly commended, it was a heart-breaking scene.
"As the state begins to open up this will mean more vehicles and pedestrians on and around the roads, we have to look out for each other, especially in these difficult weather conditions."
READ MORE: Southeast Queensland smashed by a month's worth of rain in 24 hours
The woman is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be aged 43, NSW Police said.
The 43-year-old male driver of the truck was not injured and was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Officers attached to Leichhardt Police Area Command established a crime scene, which was examined by specialist forensic police.
An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash is underway. A report will be prepared for the Coroner.
Post-lockdown frenzy drives unprecedented demand for holiday homes
After months of being locked into our homes, Sydneysiders are driving an unprecedented surge in demand for holidays.
But it has also created the perfect opportunity for savvy families to make money from their existing assets, which in turn can be used to fund their own holidays further afield.
The post-lockdown frenzy has created a shortage of accommodation and activities, with many areas booked out until next year, and a significant increase in prices.
READ MORE: Tradies urged not to delay return to work amid major labour shortages
This means Sydneysiders prepared to rent out their home, car or caravan, boat or even driveway will likely get their new listings snapped up at peak season prices.
New research by Airbnb reveals Australians who started listing their properties between July last year and June this year and welcomed at least one guest earned an average of $24,880.
And with Sydney ranked the fourth most searched for summer destinations in NSW, it's not just obvious locations like Bondi or the Blue Mountains that are getting snapped up.
"What we find is two things: one a lot of people use us to go and visit their relatives and friends or family, which means they are looking for places absolutely everywhere," Susan Wheeldon, country manager for Airbnb told 9News.
"And number two is, if you started searching for somewhere and it's booked out or there's not anything you can find, then people are branching out into further and further suburbs.
"We are seeing a lot of searches coming back into Sydney and we think that's because people are just looking to get into a different neighbourhood and see something a bit different from where they have been locked down in recent months."
READ MORE: Southeast Queensland smashed by a month's worth of rain in 24 hours
Matthew Lloyd, co-founder and managing director of Book My Boat, has seen a significant increase in bookings on his peer-to-peer platform for boats, ranging from little tinnies to house boats and charter boats, in the lead up to lockdown lifting.
"Boats are an expensive item but they also yield a great return," he said.
"Someone with a small tinnie that does under 10 knots, they're going for around $200 to $250 a day.
"Demand has gone crazy – everyone can see Freedom Day and bookings are coming in thick and fast. We actually need new boats, we have got too many customers.
"Booking you boat out is a great way to generate a bit of extra income, a bit of a side hustle."
Similarly, people can make money on the side from renting out their cars on platforms like Car Next Door and their parking space, garage, carport or driveway on Parkhound.
"I think for a lot of people it's an opportunity to make use of an underutilised asset… instead of spending $8000 a year maybe keeping your car parked on the street," Andrew Bieber from Car Next Door said.
Megan Murphy, a primary school teacher, and Fran Coxworth, head of an IT department at Westpac, have a studio in the back of their home in Newport on Sydney's Northern Beaches listed on Airbnb.
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"The set up was very easy, it's pretty low maintenance and we've found all the guests really tidy and pretty clean," Megan said.
"It allows us a bit of extra money to travel and experience other Airbnb's both in Australia and all over the world."
They're planning to use money they earn from Airbnb to travel to the UK to see family and for some regional long weekend breaks in NSW.
"As the restrictions have eased, inquiries have certainly ramped up," Megan added.
"Before we had a lot of international guests coming to stay to spend time with family in the area and now it's a holiday from across the bridge so a lot of people from the other side of Sydney, a lot of locals in general.
"You'd be surprised by how many people are looking for accommodation that's not a hotel but something a bit more personal – it's definitely worth a go."
Caravans, boats, converted trains and yurts are also among popular properties on Airbnb.
Airbnb has a 'What's My Place Worth Tool' which calculates the average monthly income for a Host in most destinations across Australia.
Push to ban petrol powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers
Calls are growing for Australia to follow California's lead in banning petrol powered garden equipment to get users to move to electric alternatives.
In California, petrol powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers and similar gardening equipment is soon to be made illegal to cut down noise pollution and air pollution.
The founder of Planet Ark wants Australia to do the same.
READ MORE: How Victoria's COVID-19 vaccination check-in app works
"It makes a lot of sense for Australia to follow California's lead on this," John Dee said.
He said electrical appliances were a much better alternative to the traditional petrol powered version.
"They're quieter, cleaner, and they're certainly a lot quieter on a Sunday morning."
Gary Hertog at Jim's Mowing is already using all electric equipment and he advises others do the same.
"Everything about it far outweighs petrol. Having to pull start a petrol mower 15 to 20 times a day as opposed to a single push of a button."
According to environmentalists, an hour spent using a petrol leaf blower emits the same level of pollution as driving a car from Melbourne to Brisbane.
Local Focus: Volunteers urgently needed for large Whanganui production
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Covid 19 Delta outbreak: 8500 more beneficiaries since start of outbreak, data shows
By Sarah Robson of RNZ Since the start of the Delta outbreak, 8500 more people have ended up on the benefit, Ministry of Social Development figures show.While job losses have been nowhere near as severe as the first lockdown…