It is far too early to celebrate the ‘end’ of Covid – we should be doing more to fight it

Editorial: There is still plenty that people could be doing to mitigate the spread of an illness that is still poorly understood and has the capacity to cause immense harm

22 March 2022 (Brian Adcock)

For a very long time, Covid was very effective at preventing all but the most severe current events, but now that its defences have been broken, no one should need reminding that the same is not true in reverse.

Throughout 2022, various Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) scientists – including Professor Christina Pagel – have warned that the pandemic is absolutely not over yet, and neither is the UK’s epidemic. The government has responded by disbanding Sage.

The anecdotal evidence – that there appear to be incredible amounts of Covid around – is backed up by the data. Analysis published over the weekend shows that one in 20 people in the UK may currently be infected with Covid, driven by the BA.2 Omicron variant.

The government has announced a spring booster programme for the elderly and most vulnerable. The first Omicron surge, just before Christmas, was fortunately timed to meet the first booster rollout (while the first booster rollout was also very successfully ramped up to meet it). Now, there is concern that the elderly, who are especially at risk, have dwindling protection.

The Sars-CoV2 virus is not remotely concerned about people’s frustrations, or the desire for normal life to return. Normal life has more or less returned, but there is still plenty that people could be doing to mitigate the spread of an illness that is still poorly understood and still has the capacity to cause immense harm.

Masks are, in theory, mandatory on public transport in many parts of the UK. But in practice they are not. The primary reason to end Covid restrictions is to end the economic harm they can cause. But with Covid being so prevalent, people being wary of taking public transport – because preventative measures are not being enforced – is a hindrance to recovery, not a help.

Ending the provision of free lateral flow tests will certainly lead to the virus spreading further than is necessary.

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In recent months, unvaccinated school-age children have suffered another huge wave of infections. That other countries moved much faster to vaccinate children will surely be a matter for the eventual inquiry; children are highly unlikely to become seriously ill from Covid, but they are certainly affected by school closures, by the loss of a parent or grandparent, or by horrendous Covid-induced damage to their parents’ livelihoods. These consequences of the pandemic will certainly have been exacerbated by the huge Covid sink that schools were allowed to become.

Lots of young adults who have had Covid several times, and are past the point of concern about it, still do not know if their children have or haven’t had the disease, and are keen to prevent them from being infected – particularly if they are unvaccinated, as most young children still are. Free, at-home testing is crucial to that effort. It should not be coming to an end.

There is plenty to celebrate in the country’s fight against Covid, but the victory is not complete, and it will be far less complete should it be celebrated prematurely.