I’ve just heard of a Report by UK MPs on how Britain handled the pandemic. I haven’t read the Report. I’ve only seen reports of the Report.
What I’m seeing on BBC, Sky, Talk Radio is that the Report criticises the UK government for its handling of the crisis. Fair enough. They also say it was the “worst mishandling of a health crisis” in British history. Who knows? Maybe.
But here’s the amazing bit … they say the government should have questioned the science at the beginning of the outbreak.
“Should have questioned the science”.
I remember, very clearly, what it was like then. Questioning the science was verboten. Questioning the science on a basic matter of how to handle the pandemic — lockdown or no lockdown — was unthinkable. The media would have excoriated the government. They’d have been hammered.
Some, but not many enough, are criticising the Report as being with “the benefit of hindsight”. Absolutely. But none refers to the “Follow the Science” zeitgeist at the time. I’ll bet London to a brick the authors of this Report believed exactly the same at the time. “Follow the science”. It was a mantra. If there was any questioning of “the Science”, it came from the Right — and was thus safely mocked or ignored. Or it came from scientists of the Great Barrington Declaration. Who were all roasted at the time. And continue to be.
I find this all breathtaking hypocrisy. And forgetfulness. And 2020 hindsight.
Apparently the Report says there were 20,000 “unnecessary deaths”. This is a cheap shot. You could always say there are “unnecessary deaths” from any policy. Driving at 50 mph rather than 30 mph; or simply allowing people fo go about their daily lives. Any policy has a cost in lives and livelihoods.
I’ve yet to read the Report, but plan to. What I’ve heard of it, it’s multiple cheap shots and hypocrisy grande.
This is not to claim there were no mistakes made. Of course there were. In the UK, as elsewhere. As Everywhere. Everyone could have done better. If this Report helps the process of learning, great. But cheap shots and being Captains Hindsight don’t help.
ADDED: The myth of the ‘late’ lockdown [in the UK]
ADDED even later (15th Oct): Noah Carl’s response to the House of Commons Report on the UK response to Covid.
