COVID-19 has ravaged throughout the world like a wildfire, delegating us to an uncomfortable standstill. Governments around the globe have framed their COVID-19 response policies as per their specific national requirements and limitations. Since the novel Coronavirus is a new virus, policymakers had to face impediments in fighting this invisible enemy. The challenge of the once-in-a-century event faced by the United Kingdom has been no exception. But, in the retrospect, UK’s handling of coronavirus appears to have fared well, when compared to other countries and the EU. In a recent survey by Ipsos MORI, 67% or two-thirds of respondents believed that UK’s handling COVID-19 crisis was better than other EU countries.
Death rates in the UK have plummeted to single-digit numbers and daily positive cases have also shown a persistent downward trend. Despite the earlier spread of virulent UK variant B.1.1.7, the country is set to ease lockdown restrictions under a four-step plan. Britons will now be able to meet indoors and enjoy the services of pubs, restaurants, and cafes once again. The UK model shows the light of hope and positivity during grim circumstances that other countries are still facing.
Let’s have a look at few key measures that UK took to battle its COVID-19 crisis:
Operation Last Gasp
Operation Last Gasp was a war-style effort to mobilise manufacturing companies to produce more ventilators. The national effort was rolled out last year to tackle the immediate increasing demand for the health system. As the COVID-19 virus affects the lungs, a need was felt to deploy more ventilators. This initiative was meant to ramp up preparations to protect vulnerable individuals, who might need intensive care.
Oxford Vaccine development
According to an estimate, $96.7m of funding for research and development of the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine came from the UK government and the rest of the funding was from charitable trusts, private donations, and other governments. The development of ChAdox vaccine technology was supported by cooperative efforts of government and accomplished researchers at Oxford. This vaccine was developed in a record short time of just eleven months. However, research towards this breakthrough took years of consistent time and effort by scientists and epidemiologists.
Vaccine policy
The government of the UK realised early on the paramount importance of Vaccination to protect the citizens and get the economy back on track. British authorities ordered millions of doses of vaccine vials from multiple companies. They employed a graded approach in the vaccine policy. The more vulnerable and high-risk population was vaccinated first, taking into account the heavy death toll experienced during the first wave. The success of the bold Vaccine policy is the reason the UK is now able to recover from long and intermittent lockdown restrictions.
Track and Trace
Over the time, UK was able to scale the track and trace system. Contact tracing was an efficient way to track infected people and their close contacts during the initial months of the Pandemic. It is utilised to prolong the spread of COVID-19 infection, in order to provide the health system a breathing space and ramp up the infrastructure accordingly. The UK also used the NHS contact tracing app to trace the suspected infected individuals and isolate them.
Policymaking
The UK government ran an awareness campaign with the slogan “Stay alert, control the virus, save lives”. This raised awareness among the public to not let their guards down and influence behavioral aspects to break the chain of the COVID-19 virus. The concept of ‘support bubbles’ was also carried out to help people who had been isolated due to the lockdowns. A ‘support bubble’ consists of two households that are allowed to interact and ease out Pandemic fatigue through these engagements.
Transparency and accountability
The Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, has announced a public inquiry to investigate the government’s COVID-19 response and mitigation. The Commission will launch the inquiry next year during the spring. Such transparent steps by a government raise public confidence and allow holding the authorities accountable for their actions. During the handling of the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Boris Johnson also made a public statement saying “sorry for every life lost” and took “full responsibility”. A government in-action that keeps the public informed is essential in combating an immense crisis, as posed by the COVID-19 pandemic
The optimism in the UK exhibits an assurance that the world can soon emerge out of the pandemic and learn to manage it better. Efforts in India to grapple with the second wave have also accelerated. The vaccination strategy has been modified to allow the 18-45 years age group to get vaccinated. Multiple Vaccine manufacturers are being approved to increase the manufacturing capacity. One of the vaccine manufacturers, Bharat Biotech, has also agreed to share vaccine formula to ramp up the production as soon as possible. It is the responsibility of individual citizens to remain cautious with best behavioral practices and get vaccinated as soon as a slot is available.
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