5 Crucial points they DIDN’T make
Another lockdown could devastate NHS waiting lists
THE shutdown ordered in March had a huge impact on patients.
In many hospitals, non-Covid activity ground to a halt. Cancer patients were told they could not access chemotherapy or scans, hip operations were cancelled and cataract procedures postponed. There is a huge backlog of procedures which will take months to clear. Fear also had an impact. Vaccination rates fell as
parents kept children at home and A&E visits dropped. Even heart attack admissions plummeted as patients heeded the ‘stay at home’ message.
Why not just shield the vulnerable?
THE risk of someone dying with the virus in their 80s is 0 times that of younger groups. The average age at which patients succumb is 82. The normal life expectancy of a British man is 9. For a woman it is 83. Most children and young people shrug off the virus. There is a strong argument that, instead of ordering another lockdown, ministers should introduce a shielding policy for the elderly and vulnerable, allowing the rest of the country to carry on.
Shutting schools again would have a major impact
MANY scientists now believe closing schools was unnecessary. Most children are not in danger from the virus – yet untold harm was done to their education and mental health by keeping them at home. Parents also had to stay in to look after them, making it difficult to work.
We may have more immunity
SIR Patrick Vallance said ‘fewer than 8 per cent’ of the population has developed antibodies to the virus, so the majority remain susceptible.
But emerging evidence suggests that the antibody surveys used are not a complete picture. Many more may be protected by T-cells which have learned how to ward off Covid due to exposure to other coronaviruses.
We have to learn to live with the virus even if there’s no vaccine
The scientists laid out scenarios lasting through the winter, in the hope that a vaccine will come to the rescue in the spring.
But if by then no vaccine has been developed, what’s the plan? It would be unsustainable to push the country into lockdown every time cases rise. Will we be having similar discussions this time next year?
We have to learn to live with the virus – because it is not going away.