UK COVID Inquiry Finds Flaws in Pandemic Preparedness

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Above: Dr. Doreen Brown, 85, receives the first of two Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine jabs at Guy's Hospital at the start of the largest-ever immunization program in the UK's history on December 8, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. Image copyright: Victoria Jones/Pool/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Facts

  • A 217-page report from the COVID inquiry into the UK government's response to the pandemic has said that they were "ill prepared" for the pandemic, and that "radical reforms" are needed to prevent future pandemics from being similarly destructive.

  • The inquiry, chaired by Baroness Hallett, faulted the UK government for preparing for the "wrong kind of pandemic" by focusing on influenza scenarios that would be mild, leading to the government ultimately turning to the "untested" policy of lockdowns.

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The Spin

Narrative A

This report has found failings at every level of government for the COVID disaster. The world has known that pandemics are inevitable, but a lack of resources and preparedness led to unnecessarily tragic outcomes. By ignoring the scientists, pandemic preparations were unacceptably on the back burner. After COVID, the world must treat this threat as real and worthy of our utmost attention.

Guardian

Narrative B

The story here is not one of an inept government stymying fearless scientists but of a failure on all levels. The inquiry faults scientists and the government for groupthink, as they rammed through untested lockdowns that did more harm than good. Perhaps there will now be some accountability from the "trust the science" manufactured consensus crowd now that the actual evidence is in.

UnHerd

Metaculus Prediction