Response to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry Module 1 Report

Long Covid Support acknowledges the efforts of Lady Hallett and her team in pulling together this first report with regards to Module 1 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, ‘The Resilience and Preparedness of the United Kingdom’. We stand united as part of the Long Covid groups in acknowledging its impact on the bereaved families, the vulnerable and those impacted by Long Covid.

In her report Lady Hallett states that “if the UK had been better prepared, the nation could have avoided some of the significant and long-lasting financial, economic and human costs of the Covid-19 pandemic.” A statement that will have been a challenging read and resonated with so many.

Lady Hallett also goes on to acknowledge that “the U.K. prepared for the wrong kind of pandemic.” By preparing for an influenza-style pandemic the focus was on treatment not containment. It is unclear to what extent, if at all, knowledge from previous pandemics of the risk of long-term illness and disability from a coronavirus was planned for.

As the Long Covid Groups were denied Core Participant status in Module 1, we filed this question with the Inquiry legal team: “Were lessons learned from previous SARS outbreaks and of other viruses in regard to the likelihood of post-acute sequelae and thereafter of chronic illness and/or disability arising from infection?”

We know from expert testimony in Module 2 of the Inquiry that “Long-term sequelae following acute viral infections are well recognised. It was therefore predictable that there would be long-term sequelae following a pandemic of a respiratory infection”.

It is therefore regrettable that no explicit mention is made in the recommendations as to whether planning for future pandemics includes those for identifying and responding to long-term sequelae in new variants of Covid-19 and other viruses of concern.

Whilst we welcome the 10 recommendations made regarding future pandemic preparedness, it is worth remembering that we are still in a pandemic. Long Covid has and will continue to have a substantial disease burden on quality of life, livelihoods, healthcare services and the economy.

As well as preparing for the worst, the UK government also needs to ensure that ‘business as usual’ is better for the health and wellbeing of the nation. Ensuring appropriate mitigations against the spread of airborne pathogens, such as clean air in public buildings and masks in healthcare settings, will both reduce the incidence of such illnesses as well as making it much easier to pivot in times of crisis.

We are encouraged by this first report, a damning indictment of the UK’s approach and hope that this government will waste no time in implementing the lessons learned to ensure that the most vulnerable are better protected in this and future pandemics.

Long Covid Support remains committed to advocating on behalf of the 2M+ UK citizens experiencing life-changing chronic illness and/or disability due to Covid-19. Given that Covid-19 is not a seasonal virus and with current infection rates soaring, this pandemic is far from over.

The full-report can be read on the UK Covid-19 Inquiry website. There is also an ‘In Brief’ summary.