I believe Corona SARS2 virus/Covid19 has highlighted faults in the health service and virology.

The answer is separated into four parts to make it easier to follow.

Part 1: TTI

An easy to use and trustworthy TTI is essential in managing a viral pandemic. Once working there have been only 16.5 million downloads ( 22nd October 2020) which is 23.95% of the population when we need 80 – 90% at least. Many people did not trust the app and did not download it.

Part 2: Testing

There is a distinct lack of testing and labs are overwhelmed resulting in many false negatives.
There was no testing available in schools for children and teachers although this has been planned but not fully implemented. Children can catch and spread Corona SARS2 virus and then take it home but we have no idea of the scale of the problem.
There are mixed opinions about how useful lateral flow tests are as a tool to control the transmission of infection.The current view of their sensitivity is likely to be between 40–76%, meaning that up to half of infected people could have been missed.

Part 3: Genomic Testing

The U.K. is envied around the world for our genomic testing but we only sample around 10% and presumably multiply by 10. This could result in statistical errors and problems becoming an unnecessary concern.

Part 4: Lack of Clear Messaging

There has not been a continuous trusted single person that gives the public sound scientific clear messaging e.g. wearing masks, physical distancing, hand washing and information on vaccine development. This has caused vaccine hesitancy : people are worried about taking the vaccine, amazingly this includes health care workers.There is much misinformation which spreads easily on social media; it only takes seven seconds to write a lie and takes over 15 minutes to tell the truth.

 

 

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