Covid-19 inquiry latest: New report due as healthcare workers warn NHS is not prepared for another pandemic

Less than a third of NHS workers believe the health service is ready for another pandemic
The Covid-19 Inquiry is set to release its fourth report on Thursday, which will examine the development and roll-out of vaccines during the crisis.

It is expected to highlight the unequal uptake of the vaccine and the government’s response.

Inquiry chair Heather Hallett will also address the concerns of the groups representing those who died or suffered harm related to vaccines, which are calling for improvements to the vaccine damage payment scheme.

Campaigners have called on the government ahead of the report’s release, urging it to be better prepared for another pandemic and improve its vaccine readiness.

A YouGov poll revealed that 69 per cent of NHS workers believe the health service is poorly prepared for another pandemic.

Nicola Brook, a solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter, which represents more than 7,000 families from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said: “Despite living through the horrors of the pandemic, we find ourselves in the unbelievable situation of being less equipped as a nation to make vaccines today than we were at the start of the pandemic.”
More than 184 million Covid vaccinations have been administered in England, according to the NHS.

A damning report from the inquiry in November found that Boris Johnson’s government and his failure to take Covid seriously led to 23,000 deaths.

Bereaved families say loved ones “would still be alive today” as they condemn Boris Johnson over Covid inquiry
What did the last Covid inquiry find?

The Covid inquiry published its third report last month, which concluded that the UK’s healthcare systems “came close to collapse”.

The report examined the impact of Covid on healthcare systems across the UK and investigated “how governments and society responded to the pandemic, the capacity of healthcare systems to adapt and the impact on patients, their loved ones and healthcare workers.”
It found “that the UK entered the pandemic ill-prepared.

Healthcare systems were already overstretched and in a precarious state.

This fragility had profound consequences once the crisis hit, especially when the numbers of people seeking treatment for Covid-19 started to increase dramatically.

“Healthcare systems were overwhelmed and came close to collapse.

Despite the best efforts of healthcare workers, many Covid patients did not receive the care they would otherwise receive and non Covid patients had their diagnoses and treatment delayed.

For some this meant their condition became inoperable.

Healthcare workers put their lives at risk and the pandemic had a significant and long-lasting impact on their mental health and wellbeing.”
What can be expected from today's report?

The inquiry’s fourth report is set to make a series of recommendations about the development of the Covid vaccines and its rollout in the UK.

It will also examine the treatment of Covid-19 through both existing and new medications.

One of the issues to be highlighted in the report will include unequal uptake of the vaccine and the government’s response.

Victims of Covid vaccine-related harm demand more compensation
Baroness Heather Hallett, who chairs the inquiry, is set to address the groups representing people who were affected by Covid vaccine-related deaths or harm on Thursday.

Lawyers representing the groups have called for improvements to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, which sees people vaccinated in the UK awarded £120,000 if they have been harmed as a result.

Sarah Moore, who is representing 48 claimants, said: “The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, in its current form, fails to provide timely or adequate support to those who have been seriously injured or bereaved due to vaccine side effects.”
Solicitor Terry Wilcox from Hudgell Solicitors, which represents a number of vaccine injured groups, said people who have been harmed or died “deserve acknowledgment of the impact on their lives, which for many has been life-changing illness and loss of loved ones, and changes made to ensure they are properly supported, and that lessons are learned for the future”.

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The Independent community largely agreed with the Covid inquiry findings that Boris Johnson’s government was chaotic and poorly prepared, though many also stressed the broader context of conflicting scientific advice, years of underfunding, and systemic failings that compounded the crisis:
‘We need leaders to lead’: Readers on UK’s delayed Covid response
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How was the Covid-19 vaccine rolled out in the UK?

In early 2020, scientists across the world were desperately searching for a new drug or treatment for Covid as the virus continued to spread.

The government deployed a Vaccine Task Force in the UK to find the most promising vaccines and pre-order them for speedy deployment once approved by regulators.

In November that year, Pfizer/BioNTech announced that its Covid-19 vaccine was both safe and effective, with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine also announced to be effective just days later.

Grandmother Margaret Keenan, then 90, became the first person in the world to be given a Covid-19 jab outside of a clinical trial when she received the Pfizer vaccine in Coventry.

The NHS began rapidly administering vaccines, prioritising the most vulnerable in society.

Thousands of vaccination sites were set up across the UK including in football stadiums, shopping malls and cathedrals.

Clinics operated 24 hours a day to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible.

Covid inquiry to release fourth report at midday
The UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry is releasing its fourth report at midday, which will examine vaccines and drugs during the crisis.

It will make a series of recommendations about the development of Covid vaccines and its rollout.

It will also examine the treatment of Covid through existing and new medications.

The report is expected to discuss the unequal uptake of the vaccine and the government’s response.

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