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Covid: Lessons to be learned from spring 2022 public inquiry - PM
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Michael Ejercito
May 13, 2021, 9:10:35 AM5/13/21
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http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57088314
Covid: Lessons to be learned from spring 2022 public inquiry - PM
By Emma Harrison
BBC News
Published17 hours agocommentsComments
Share
Related Topics
Coronavirus pandemic
media captionPM Boris Johnson said the UK's Covid response would be
"placed under the microscope"
The government is "fully committed to learning the lessons at every
stage" of the pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
He told MPs an independent public inquiry into the handling of the
pandemic would be held in spring 2022.
The inquiry would place "the state's actions under the microscope", he
added, and take evidence under oath.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned why the inquiry could not
start earlier, such as later in 2021.
But addressing the Commons, the prime minister said the inquiry could
not "inadvertently distract" those within the NHS and government
advisers, who were continuing to deal with the pandemic.
The inquiry's terms of reference have not yet been defined but would be
published in "due course", he said, adding that the devolved
administrations would be consulted.
On Wednesday the UK reported another 11 deaths within 28 days of a
positive test and a further 2,284 coronavirus cases.
Mr Johnson acknowledged many bereaved families would want the inquiry to
begin sooner, but said because of the threat of new variants and a
possible winter surge in infections, spring next year would be the
"right moment".
What is the Covid inquiry and how will it work?
What's changing in England, Scotland and Wales?
Town's Covid surge leaves hospitality nervous
On The Beach pulls all summer holidays from sale
He said the "new variants pose a potentially lethal danger, including
the one first identified in India which is of increasing concern here".
"Should these [variants] prove highly transmissible and elude the
protection of our vaccines, they would have the potential to cause even
greater suffering than we endured in January."
Bolton has one of the highest instances of the Indian variant in the UK
and is seeing a particularly sharp rise in cases among unvaccinated
under-25s.
Health officials in Glasgow have expressed concern about a rising number
of Covid cases in the city - the latest public case rate is 58.3 per
100,000, well above a key threshold for easing restrictions.
More than 127,600 people have died in the UK with coronavirus, making it
one of the worst affected countries by number of deaths.
The inquiry is expected to examine the government's handling of the
pandemic, including the timing of its decision to impose lockdowns.
Mr Johnson told MPs the inquiry would be established on a "statutory
basis" - where witnesses can be legally compelled to attend and give
evidence and provide relevant material under oath.
Banner image reading 'more about coronavirus'
LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?
LOCKDOWN RULES: What are they and when will they end?
OXFORD JAB: What is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine?
Banner
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for clarification on whether the
inquiry would be formally opened in spring next year or whether that
will be when work begins to establish the inquiry.
In response, Mr Johnson said the preparatory work to establish the terms
of reference and the inquiry chairman "will happen before the spring of
next year".
Mr Johnson - who has set out plans to ease some of England's coronavirus
restrictions on 17 May - said: "The end of the lockdown is not the end
of the pandemic."
He added: "The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the
pandemic has now reached its global peak and will last throughout this
year."
A WHO report released on Wednesday said the organisation should have
declared a global emergency earlier than it did, and that individual
governments failed to act quickly enough.
2px presentational grey line
Analysis box by Hugh Pym, health editor
Most leading healthcare systems struggled to get to grips with Covid in
the early stages. France, Italy and Spain had similar challenges to the UK.
The inquiry will look at the extent to which the experience here
mirrored that of other countries and how decisions and policies
affecting outcomes were different.
Key questions will include preparedness and why before last year health
chiefs only "war-gamed" a serious flu epidemic.
Why were PPE supplies so inadequate and why then was procurement so flawed?
Why was testing and tracing dropped because of lack of capacity in the
early stages of the pandemic?
There will be intense scrutiny of the decision to fully lock down only
on 23 March last year when dire warnings about the NHS being potentially
overwhelmed had come more than a week earlier.
Different approaches to opening up in the UK's nations will be considered.
The biggest question is likely to be why the UK had one of the highest
Covid death rates relative to the population of any major economy.
The inquiry will need to consider whether this might be the result of
misguided official decision making - or a consequence of underlying
inequalities and poor health in disadvantaged communities, and perhaps
under-investment in public health.
2px presentational grey line
The Liberal Democrats, who were calling for a public inquiry in June
2020, said the planned timing of the inquiry meant the government were
"getting away from… early accountability".
Meanwhile, Jo Goodman, co-founder of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for
Justice campaign group, said the inquiry must involve families from the
start, allowing them to help to choose the chair as well as determining
the terms of reference.
She said spring 2022 was "simply too late to begin".
"It sounds like common sense when the prime minister says that an
inquiry can wait until the pandemic is over, but lives are at stake with
health experts and scientists warning of a third wave later this year.
"A rapid review in summer 2020 could have saved our loved ones who died
in the second wave in winter."
Along with the Lib Dems, the campaign group called on the government to
release an internal "lessons learned" investigation into its handling of
the pandemic.
Downing Street confirmed an "informal" review of its response has been
carried out but declined to say whether it would be published.
Boris Johnson greets Sgt Sebastian Mwaura from the Defence Medical Group
at Westminster Abbey's annual service for the Florence Nightingale
Foundation
IMAGE COPYRIGHTPA MEDIA
image captionThe PM attended a Westminster Abbey service on Wednesday
that paid tribute to nurses working during the pandemic
Fran Hall, who had only been married three weeks to her long-term
partner when she lost him to Covid last year, called for a "rapid review".
She told the BBC: "That is something that can be done in a matter of
weeks, that wouldn't tie up people's time to the degree that a full
judge-led inquiry would.
"That would hopefully begin to get some quick answers to some of the
very pressing questions."
Dame Deirdre Hine - the author of the independent review into the swine
flu pandemic - told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "Looking at what will
have to be the terms of reference and the ground it [the inquiry] has to
cover; I can't see it reporting in less than two to three years."
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, who chaired an inquiry into the deaths of
babies undergoing heart surgery, warned against placing a time limit on
the inquiry.
He told the BBC's Newscast podcast: "What's got to be worked out are the
mechanics. Who's going to chair it? Is he or she going to sit with
others? Is it going to be time limited? That would be a disaster. It
must be done as expeditiously as possible, but never put a time limit on
it because you never know what circumstances will arise."
Working from home guidance
In the Commons, Mr Johnson also confirmed a commission on Covid
commemoration is to be established to help remember those who lost their
lives during the pandemic.
He added he "wholeheartedly" supported the plan for a memorial in St
Paul's Cathedral, describing it as "a fitting place of reflection in the
heart of our capital".
In response to a question from Conservative MP Felicity Buchan on the
government's work-at-home advice, Mr Johnson said it was "certainly" the
intention to lift the guidance on 21 June, but the government would "say
that with more clarity a bit later on".
Everyone who can work from home must do so under the current government
advice.
On Thursday, England's Covid vaccination programme will open to those
aged 38 and 39, with the NHS website to be updated at 07:00 BST.
Pregnant women will also be able to book through the national booking
service from Thursday and will be directed to vaccination centres
offering Pfizer and Moderna in their local area - in line with guidance
from the UK's vaccine advisers.
More than 18.4m people - 35% of the adult population - have now received
both doses of a vaccine, with 35.7m people having received one jab.
Covid: Lessons to be learned from spring 2022 public inquiry - PM
By Emma Harrison
BBC News
Published17 hours agocommentsComments
Share
Related Topics
Coronavirus pandemic
media captionPM Boris Johnson said the UK's Covid response would be
"placed under the microscope"
The government is "fully committed to learning the lessons at every
stage" of the pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
He told MPs an independent public inquiry into the handling of the
pandemic would be held in spring 2022.
The inquiry would place "the state's actions under the microscope", he
added, and take evidence under oath.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer questioned why the inquiry could not
start earlier, such as later in 2021.
But addressing the Commons, the prime minister said the inquiry could
not "inadvertently distract" those within the NHS and government
advisers, who were continuing to deal with the pandemic.
The inquiry's terms of reference have not yet been defined but would be
published in "due course", he said, adding that the devolved
administrations would be consulted.
On Wednesday the UK reported another 11 deaths within 28 days of a
positive test and a further 2,284 coronavirus cases.
Mr Johnson acknowledged many bereaved families would want the inquiry to
begin sooner, but said because of the threat of new variants and a
possible winter surge in infections, spring next year would be the
"right moment".
What is the Covid inquiry and how will it work?
What's changing in England, Scotland and Wales?
Town's Covid surge leaves hospitality nervous
On The Beach pulls all summer holidays from sale
He said the "new variants pose a potentially lethal danger, including
the one first identified in India which is of increasing concern here".
"Should these [variants] prove highly transmissible and elude the
protection of our vaccines, they would have the potential to cause even
greater suffering than we endured in January."
Bolton has one of the highest instances of the Indian variant in the UK
and is seeing a particularly sharp rise in cases among unvaccinated
under-25s.
Health officials in Glasgow have expressed concern about a rising number
of Covid cases in the city - the latest public case rate is 58.3 per
100,000, well above a key threshold for easing restrictions.
More than 127,600 people have died in the UK with coronavirus, making it
one of the worst affected countries by number of deaths.
The inquiry is expected to examine the government's handling of the
pandemic, including the timing of its decision to impose lockdowns.
Mr Johnson told MPs the inquiry would be established on a "statutory
basis" - where witnesses can be legally compelled to attend and give
evidence and provide relevant material under oath.
Banner image reading 'more about coronavirus'
LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?
LOCKDOWN RULES: What are they and when will they end?
OXFORD JAB: What is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine?
Banner
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called for clarification on whether the
inquiry would be formally opened in spring next year or whether that
will be when work begins to establish the inquiry.
In response, Mr Johnson said the preparatory work to establish the terms
of reference and the inquiry chairman "will happen before the spring of
next year".
Mr Johnson - who has set out plans to ease some of England's coronavirus
restrictions on 17 May - said: "The end of the lockdown is not the end
of the pandemic."
He added: "The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the
pandemic has now reached its global peak and will last throughout this
year."
A WHO report released on Wednesday said the organisation should have
declared a global emergency earlier than it did, and that individual
governments failed to act quickly enough.
2px presentational grey line
Analysis box by Hugh Pym, health editor
Most leading healthcare systems struggled to get to grips with Covid in
the early stages. France, Italy and Spain had similar challenges to the UK.
The inquiry will look at the extent to which the experience here
mirrored that of other countries and how decisions and policies
affecting outcomes were different.
Key questions will include preparedness and why before last year health
chiefs only "war-gamed" a serious flu epidemic.
Why were PPE supplies so inadequate and why then was procurement so flawed?
Why was testing and tracing dropped because of lack of capacity in the
early stages of the pandemic?
There will be intense scrutiny of the decision to fully lock down only
on 23 March last year when dire warnings about the NHS being potentially
overwhelmed had come more than a week earlier.
Different approaches to opening up in the UK's nations will be considered.
The biggest question is likely to be why the UK had one of the highest
Covid death rates relative to the population of any major economy.
The inquiry will need to consider whether this might be the result of
misguided official decision making - or a consequence of underlying
inequalities and poor health in disadvantaged communities, and perhaps
under-investment in public health.
2px presentational grey line
The Liberal Democrats, who were calling for a public inquiry in June
2020, said the planned timing of the inquiry meant the government were
"getting away from… early accountability".
Meanwhile, Jo Goodman, co-founder of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for
Justice campaign group, said the inquiry must involve families from the
start, allowing them to help to choose the chair as well as determining
the terms of reference.
She said spring 2022 was "simply too late to begin".
"It sounds like common sense when the prime minister says that an
inquiry can wait until the pandemic is over, but lives are at stake with
health experts and scientists warning of a third wave later this year.
"A rapid review in summer 2020 could have saved our loved ones who died
in the second wave in winter."
Along with the Lib Dems, the campaign group called on the government to
release an internal "lessons learned" investigation into its handling of
the pandemic.
Downing Street confirmed an "informal" review of its response has been
carried out but declined to say whether it would be published.
Boris Johnson greets Sgt Sebastian Mwaura from the Defence Medical Group
at Westminster Abbey's annual service for the Florence Nightingale
Foundation
IMAGE COPYRIGHTPA MEDIA
image captionThe PM attended a Westminster Abbey service on Wednesday
that paid tribute to nurses working during the pandemic
Fran Hall, who had only been married three weeks to her long-term
partner when she lost him to Covid last year, called for a "rapid review".
She told the BBC: "That is something that can be done in a matter of
weeks, that wouldn't tie up people's time to the degree that a full
judge-led inquiry would.
"That would hopefully begin to get some quick answers to some of the
very pressing questions."
Dame Deirdre Hine - the author of the independent review into the swine
flu pandemic - told BBC Radio 4's World at One: "Looking at what will
have to be the terms of reference and the ground it [the inquiry] has to
cover; I can't see it reporting in less than two to three years."
Professor Sir Ian Kennedy, who chaired an inquiry into the deaths of
babies undergoing heart surgery, warned against placing a time limit on
the inquiry.
He told the BBC's Newscast podcast: "What's got to be worked out are the
mechanics. Who's going to chair it? Is he or she going to sit with
others? Is it going to be time limited? That would be a disaster. It
must be done as expeditiously as possible, but never put a time limit on
it because you never know what circumstances will arise."
Working from home guidance
In the Commons, Mr Johnson also confirmed a commission on Covid
commemoration is to be established to help remember those who lost their
lives during the pandemic.
He added he "wholeheartedly" supported the plan for a memorial in St
Paul's Cathedral, describing it as "a fitting place of reflection in the
heart of our capital".
In response to a question from Conservative MP Felicity Buchan on the
government's work-at-home advice, Mr Johnson said it was "certainly" the
intention to lift the guidance on 21 June, but the government would "say
that with more clarity a bit later on".
Everyone who can work from home must do so under the current government
advice.
On Thursday, England's Covid vaccination programme will open to those
aged 38 and 39, with the NHS website to be updated at 07:00 BST.
Pregnant women will also be able to book through the national booking
service from Thursday and will be directed to vaccination centres
offering Pfizer and Moderna in their local area - in line with guidance
from the UK's vaccine advisers.
More than 18.4m people - 35% of the adult population - have now received
both doses of a vaccine, with 35.7m people having received one jab.
HeartDoc Andrew
May 13, 2021, 9:47:18 AM5/13/21
to
places is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) finding
out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who among us
are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic) in
order to http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12) for them to
call their doctor and self-quarantine per their doctor in hopes of
stopping this pandemic. Thus, hoping for the best while preparing for
the worse-case scenario of the B.1.1.7 lineage mutations and others
like the P.1, B.1.135, B.1.525, B.1.617.1, & B.1.617.2 lineage
mutations combining to render current vaccines no longer effective.
Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
May 13, 2021, 10:27:56 AM5/13/21
to
Michael
HeartDoc Andrew
May 13, 2021, 12:57:57 PM5/13/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
> I am wonderfully hungry!
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT
from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
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