Government unfit to safeguard health

The People’s Covid Inquiry has found that from the start of the pandemic, the government has been, and continues to be, unfit for the purpose of safeguarding the health of the nation.

The inquiry, set up by the KONP anti-privatisation NHS campaign group, published its preliminary findings last month.

It found the deaths of 150,000 people, most of whom “died needlessly”, were the result of incompetence. It said timings of lockdowns and failures to put in place travel restrictions and quarantine contributed significantly to accelerating the spread of Covid.

It also found that the private test and trace system, which has cost a staggering £37 billion, has never worked.

The inquiry highlights an “ongoing failure to heed fundamental public health principles of responding to infectious disease outbreaks”, compounded by cuts to public services in the preceding decade. These cuts “negatively impacted population health resilience” before the pandemic.

“Underlying poor health and pre-existing inequalities left the UK vulnerable, with England having the highest excess all-cause mortality rate among 23 European countries in the first five months of 2020,” it adds.

It also warns that relying on a single strategy of vaccines is undermining an effective pandemic policy in the UK and internationally, with variants allowed to spread.

A key recommendation is for an immediate independent public judicial inquiry.

https://www.peoplescovidinquiry.com