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Britain’s preparedness for the coronavirus pandemic was undermined by scientists believing that such a disease was unlikely to reach UK shores and spread widely, the former chief medical officer for England has told MPs.
Prof Dame Sally Davies, who handed over to Prof Chris Whitty last year, said “groupthink” and “British exceptionalism” contributed to advisers underestimating the risk from pathogens that spread from animals to humans, leading them to focus on the threat from pandemic flu.
While emergency planning exercises such as Winter Willow in 2007 and Cygnus in 2016 revealed many areas for improvement in the UK’s pandemic readiness, both scenarios assumed that the world would be battling a dangerous influenza virus.
“We were in groupthink,” Davies told the committee hearing. “We did not – our infectious disease experts – really believe that another Sars would get to us, and I think it’s a form of British exceptionalism.”
www.theguardian.com
Prof Dame Sally Davies, who handed over to Prof Chris Whitty last year, said “groupthink” and “British exceptionalism” contributed to advisers underestimating the risk from pathogens that spread from animals to humans, leading them to focus on the threat from pandemic flu.
While emergency planning exercises such as Winter Willow in 2007 and Cygnus in 2016 revealed many areas for improvement in the UK’s pandemic readiness, both scenarios assumed that the world would be battling a dangerous influenza virus.
“We were in groupthink,” Davies told the committee hearing. “We did not – our infectious disease experts – really believe that another Sars would get to us, and I think it’s a form of British exceptionalism.”
British exceptionalism undermined pandemic preparedness, MPs told
Dame Sally Davies says groupthink meant advisers focused on threat from pandemic flu
www.theguardian.com
