‘ACT NOW TO SAVE LIVES’
As a new Covid variant hits Britain, infections’ expert warns of sharp rise in pandemic deaths
A LEADING infections’ expert has launched a scathing attack on the prime minister for not doing enough to protect lives after the discovery of a new Covid-19 virus variant.
The World Health Organization (WHO) named the variant Omicron, and the government said several cases had already been detected in the UK.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior consultant in communicable disease control, urged the government to immunise fiveto 11-year-olds immediately.
The University of Exeter academic also hinted that the Johnson administration was not following the science.
Pankhania told Eastern Eye, “A lot of the decisions that have been made throughout this pandemic, have been reluctant infection control measures.
“So, the evidence speaks for itself, which is control measures in the UK have always been delayed, and always been knee-jerk and always been last-minute because of not wanting to upset a prime ministerial view, which is he takes the ‘easy does it, I’m a lovely, cuddly, lovable guy’ [approach].
“If you remember, prime minister [Boris] Johnson [last year] went around telling everyone, ‘What’s this all about? Take it on the chin and get on with it. I’ve been shaking hands everywhere. We just need to get on with it.’ He is on record for saying all those things.”
Meanwhile, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said ministers acted “swiftly” and “in a proportionate way” on the emergence of the Omicron variant.
According to new rules announced last week, people arriving in the UK must take PCR tests, and they have to isolate until they get a negative result.
From Tuesday (30), it also became mandatory to wear masks in shops, shopping centres and on public transport.
However, London mayor Sadiq Khan remained concerned. He said, “I wholeheartedly welcome the announcement that face coverings will now be compulsory in shops and on public transport nationwide, as they already are across the TfL [Transport for London] network.
“But we have been operating with one hand tied behind our back without the powers to back this up with enforcement.
“This is a measure that I have long called on the government to introduce. Evidence shows face coverings help stop the virus spreading and ensuring this is enforced will greatly help with compliance.”
The government is urging people to get booster jabs. In the Commons on Monday (29), Javid said, “Boosters should be offered, by age group, in a descending order to protect those who are most vulnerable to the virus.
“So, priority will be given to older adults and people over 16 who are at risk.
“Severely immuno-suppressed people aged 16 or above who have received three primary doses should now also be offered a booster dose.
“Children aged between 12 and 15 should be given a second dose, 12 weeks from the first dose.”
However, Pankhania, a communicable diseases expert, told Eastern Eye this measure should have been carried out months ago.
“We would be in a much better place had this government taken the right decision to immunise children before the summer holidays,” he said.
“They made a big error of judgement in not immunising children when the evidence from other parts of the world from reliable countries like the United States, Canada, Israel, the European Union was that we are immunising our children. That was a failure of good judgement.”
Analysis by Eastern Eye suggests that 86 per cent of all south Asians aged 18 and over have taken their first jab. Of these, 88 per cent have gone on to get their second jab, which means 76 per cent are fully protected.
Since the booster rollout, only one in six (16.4 per cent) south Asians have taken up the offer of a vaccine.
But that is not what concerns Pankhania. He warned that the consequences of not immunising children would be to spread the virus among multi-generation homes, which are prevalent among south Asian communities.
“All we know is that Plan A is not working. There is another plan, but we don’t know what that other plan is.
“It has never been defined. But infection control experts like myself have always said, it has to be a multi-layered, multi-pronged approach to keeping case numbers down.
“It starts with the schools, and nothing has been done to reduce case numbers in schools, and that is failing.”
The expected winter health crisis will also have an impact on controlling the disease, he said.
“Our hospitals are full because it is the autumn period now, and we need to not have any more burdens on the hospitals, and the push and pull that the prime minister has in business continuity.
“But business continuity goes hand in hand with health. So, if health is ok, businesses will be ok.
“We must not say that there are two different issues.
“They are one and the same issue – health and the economy go together. Therefore, we should work together to maintain economy and health in unison,” Pankhania said.
The worry now among businesses is that for a second Christmas running, trade will be hit if ministers impose more measures to tackle the spread of the new variant.
“The industry has already lost a staggering £80.8 billion in 12 months, the equivalent of about £220 million of sales lost every day, and about 660,000 jobs,” said Tony Matharu, the founder and chair of the Central London Alliance, a social enterprise of 20,000 organisations. “That is very, very severe, and the reintroduction of more draconian restrictions without equivalent support from the government, and we’ll see hospitality businesses simply close.
“The industry is at a point of pretty much no return, on the cliff edge. In the past, with Lehman Brothers and credit crunch, it was the hospitality sector that
led us out.
“We can still do that, depending on the government’s approach to it, and I think they should be commended for not bowing to others that want a much more rigid closure,” Matharu said.
The hotelier told Eastern Eye he trusted the public to protect themselves, and the important thing was to make sure business continued to function.
“The whole period of lockdown and the uncertainty, and the perception that we were in a bad place was extremely unhelpful,” said Matharu.
“The hospitality sector is absolutely dependent on mobility. We need flights to be moving, we need the Eurostar to be working, we need people to be travelling across the country and visiting and attending events.
“Over the run-up to [last] Christmas, it wasn’t a good place to be, but the caveat was that we looked forward to the following year at this time last year, to something better.
“The reality is that in many instances, things have improved, and are better. I would put that down to the government’s vaccination programme, which has been world leading.”
Few believe there will be another national lockdown, but Pankhania, urged ministers to “apply the brakes”.
“We’re in December now, so if you apply the brakes now, then you get a
better holiday festive period.
“It may already be too late if you have not been immunised against influenza, so do so as soon as possible.
“With respect to applying the brakes, [we need] fewer activities where people meet and spread infections.
“If you apply the brakes now, with respect to working from home, fewer gatherings in pubs and clubs and such like, you exercise infection control with masks, then that is applying the brakes.”
One of the biggest problems, said Pankhania, is that poorer nations do not have enough vaccines.
“The best thing that the rich governments ought to have done, which they never did, is to help Africa.
“If you do not help Africa suppress its infections, then unfortunately, such variants will keep on arising.
“And I don’t necessarily mean Africa, I mean any impoverished poor country with poor vaccine supply.
“Infection control prevention is not rocket science, it is very straightforward.
“Again, the government not wanting to be unpopular [has meant it has] not instigated, not implemented, good infection control measures, which is to immunise, wear good-quality masks properly in crowded places, ventilate, avoid crowded situations, avoid transmission of infections, especially in schools’ settings.
“These measures are unpopular, and so they haven’t been properly implemented.”