UK ‘much less geared up’ to cope with one other pandemic as ‘when it hits’ warning issued
Campaigners urge better pandemic preparedness as the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry prepares to publish its fourth report examining vaccine development, rollout and treatments
The UK has been warned(Image: Anadolu, Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Campaigners have called on the Government to improve preparations for future pandemics as the Covid-19 inquiry prepares to release its latest findings.
A YouGov survey has shown that seven in 10 (69%) NHS staff believe the health service is inadequately prepared for another pandemic. Not one of the 1,006 NHS workers polled said they consider the service “very well prepared”.
Nicola Brook, solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter representing 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.
“We call on the chair to recognise this disaster and to demand the Government works towards improving our readiness in vaccines and therapeutics now and not when the next pandemic hits.”
The UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry is set to release its fourth report examining vaccines and treatments during the crisis. As the virus swept across the globe in early 2020, hospitals became overwhelmed with patients and, with vaccine prospects seemingly remote, researchers began investigating new drug therapies or repurposing existing medicines.
The international Recovery trial, spearheaded by academics at the University of Oxford, achieved a vital breakthrough by identifying dexamethasone as an effective treatment – the first proven therapy to reduce coronavirus fatalities. Experts described the discovery in June 2020 as “critical” to the pandemic response and it was estimated that during the first nine months following the breakthrough, the inexpensive and readily accessible steroid medication prevented more than one million deaths globally.
Scientists also entered a race to develop an effective vaccine against the virus – viewed by many as the route out of the crisis. The UK established a Vaccine Task Force to identify the most promising vaccines and pre-order them for rapid deployment once given regulatory approval.
In November 2020, Pfizer/BioNTech revealed that its Covid-19 vaccine was both safe and effective, quickly followed by a similar announcement regarding the Moderna jab. Days afterwards the Oxford/ AstraZeneca vaccine was also declared effective at providing protection against the disease.
Regulators worked alongside scientists so the jabs could receive approval as swiftly as possible. On 8 December 2020, grandmother Margaret Keenan, then 90, became the first person worldwide to receive a Covid-19 jab outside of a clinical trial as she was given the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in Coventry.
The Oxford jab received approval for use on 30 December 2020, praised as a “massive step forward in our fight against coronavirus” by then health secretary Matt Hancock.
The NHS delivered the vaccines at speed, prioritising the most vulnerable members of society. Thousands of vaccination centres were established across the UK including in football stadiums, shopping centres and cathedrals. Clinics were operating round the clock to ensure people received their jabs as swiftly as possible.
NHS data reveals that, as of 1 February 2026, over 184 million vaccinations have been given in England. England’s chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, attributed the success of the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination programme to the “volunteer spirit” of the British public.
“Over a million people in the UK volunteered for clinical trials and other studies, and that was really what drove this, and it’s that volunteer spirit which I think underlies many of the successes that you outline,” he informed the UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry during hearings held in January of the previous year.
The inquiry is set to release its fourth report today, which will put forward a series of recommendations regarding the development of Covid-19 vaccines and the vaccine rollout. It will also scrutinise the treatment of Covid-19 through both existing and new medications.
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