It is far too early to celebrate the ‘end’ of Covid – we should be doing more to fight it

Editorial: There is still plenty that people could be doing to mitigate the spread of an illness that is still poorly understood and has the capacity to cause immense harm

22 March 2022

(Brian Adcock)

For a very long time, Covid was very effective at preventing all but the most severe current events, but now that its defences have been broken, no one should need reminding that the same is not true in reverse.

Throughout 2022, various Sage (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) scientists – including Professor Christina Pagel – have warned that the pandemic is absolutely not over yet, and neither is the UK’s epidemic. The government has responded by disbanding Sage.

The anecdotal evidence – that there appear to be incredible amounts of Covid around – is backed up by the data. Analysis published over the weekend shows that one in 20 people in the UK may currently be infected with Covid, driven by the BA.2 Omicron variant.