24th May 2020 – Government failures in the effective management of the COVID-19 pandemic have unforgivably made Britain the worst case in Europe.
A Blog by Dr David J Flavell PhD FRCPath
Charity & Scientific Director of Leukaemia Busters
24th May 2020
Paying the Price
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Credibility in Doubt
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A free high spec washable face mask for you!
The intention of these blogs started at the beginning of April was to provide clear, accurate and easy to understand information on the scientific aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic (see blog 2nd April Leukaemia Busters and the COVID-19 Pandemic.)
They were started in good faith at a time when confusing and sometimes conflicting messages were emerging from various sources including the UK government and when our real work in leukaemia research had ground to a halt owing to the lock down and potential seizure of our laboratories for COVID-19 diagnosis.
The blogs were never intended to become a political commentary but as time has passed it has become impossible to disentangle the political dimension from the scientific one and the dramatic effect political missteps and negligence has had and will continue to have for many years into the future on of all our lives.
Today, the Sunday Times published an Insight investigative report entitled “22 Days How three weeks of dither and delay at No 10 cost thousands of British Lives“. In it is revealed the terrible mistakes, procrastination’s, prevarications and failure of the government and its chief advisers to act in a timely manner on good scientific advice.
We shouted loudly in our past blogs about some of those issues, being particularly vociferous on the effects of wide open borders (see blog Flights of Fancy 3rd April) and failure to mitigate COVID-19 transmission through the use of face masks (see Face Mask Dithering 9th April, Mask Up! 13th May).
Credibility in Doubt
Now months later these matters are only just being addressed by the government, far too late in the day. The terrible fact is quite simply that the government’s procrastination’s and indecisiveness in the early part of March has resulted in tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths and an economic catastrophe for the country the likes of which has never been seen in modern times.
We are therefore all going to pay the price for our central government’s laxity, indecision and incompetence and are likely to do so for many years to come once this pandemic is finally brought under control, all thanks to their woeful performance.
More Hypocrisy & Dishonesty
Now we face disarray at the top of government as revelations reveal a deep hypocrisy and dishonesty that puts into doubt their credibility and ability to steer a safe course that will lead us out of the present crisis. That’s all I’m going to say for now, I’m not a politician and I never will be, but this has impacted all our lives to the extent that it is difficult not to comment.
Instead I want to turn my attention back to the scientific matters that will eventually offer the real solution to this pandemic. My next blog in a few days’ time will examine the possible reasons for the wide variations in mortality rates for individuals with pre-existing conditions or those from different ethnic groups and how understanding this will help guide us towards a final solution.
How to claim your free mask(s)
To those of you reading these blogs in the UK we are pleased to be able to offer 500 masks as illustrated above on a first come, first served basis, limited to a maximum of two masks per household (UK only). This initiative is a personal one paid for by ourselves and does not draw on any Leukaemia Busters funds. To claim your mask please do the following.
- Email contact@leukaemiabusters.org.uk using the wording “Mask Request” in the subject heading.
- Your name, address and telephone number in the body of the email.
- State whether you require 1 or 2 masks.
We will not retain your personal details without your permission other than for the purpose of mailing your face mask to you. We do not have the resources to be able to reply to everyone who might apply so if you do not hear from us it means that the full quota of 500 masks has been used up.
If our modest little campaign is successful then this will position us more strongly to persuade the government and allow us to facilitate one way ahead for mass face mask distribution to the UK population. It is in all of our interests so we thank you for your support in this quest.
Whilst we are offering face masks free of charge, if you feel able, a small donation to Leukaemia Busters would be much appreciated. Click here to make a donation.
To read our other blogs click here.
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