This 3yr anniversary that won't be in the news!
When the UK government rolled out the "Living with Covid" policy it simply scrapped protections and shifted to personal responsibility. For most, it meant "back to normal." For Clinically Vulnerable people, life became harder.
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When the UK government rolled out the "Living with Covid" policy it simply scrapped protections and shifted to personal responsibility. For most, it meant "back to normal." For Clinically Vulnerable people, life became harder.
1/🧵
The plan was based on a single assumption: that vaccines alone would be enough... vaccines due to be withdrawn this Autumn.
But for millions who are Clinically Vulnerable, vaccines weren’t a magic bullet. Protection wasn’t universal and some were left with little to none.
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But for millions who are Clinically Vulnerable, vaccines weren’t a magic bullet. Protection wasn’t universal and some were left with little to none.
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😀Mask mandates ended
📥Free tests were phased out
👩👩👧👦Self-isolation was no longer required
Covid was treated as a personal problem, not a public health issue. If you got sick, you were on your own.
3/
📥Free tests were phased out
👩👩👧👦Self-isolation was no longer required
Covid was treated as a personal problem, not a public health issue. If you got sick, you were on your own.
3/
They decided not to buy Evusheld - a preventative antibody treatment that could have protected immunocompromised people. Yet, the other OECD countries did act provided this life-saving option.
Antiviral treatments were, for many, equally inaccessible.
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theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/j…
Antiviral treatments were, for many, equally inaccessible.
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theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/j…
For Clinically Vulnerable people, "Living with Covid" meant being shut out of society.
Without any effort to control infections some people found that they couldn’t safely return to work, school, use public transport, or even go to the doctor for basic health needs.
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Without any effort to control infections some people found that they couldn’t safely return to work, school, use public transport, or even go to the doctor for basic health needs.
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Air quality was suddenly no longer a priority so businesses, schools, and hospitals still lack sufficient ventilation. Indoor public spaces remain high-risk for airborne disease transmission, but risks are ignored.
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Three years later, the numbers tell the story:
- Sickness absences have increased
- Many have suffered Long Covid
- Clinically Vulnerable people continue remain disproportionately impacted by severe disease, sequelae and death
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- Sickness absences have increased
- Many have suffered Long Covid
- Clinically Vulnerable people continue remain disproportionately impacted by severe disease, sequelae and death
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And yet, the public narrative continues to past tense the virus "During Covid..." even though we are not post-Covid, we are *with* Covid.
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"Living with Covid" was never about living with it.
It was about moving on and forgetting, leaving the vulnerable to fend for themselves.
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It was about moving on and forgetting, leaving the vulnerable to fend for themselves.
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It didn’t have to be this way.
We could have invested in ventilation, supported mask wearers, and made public spaces safer.
Instead, those who needed protection the most were simply abandoned.
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We could have invested in ventilation, supported mask wearers, and made public spaces safer.
Instead, those who needed protection the most were simply abandoned.
10/
Three years on, what have we learned?
More importantly, when will we finally recognise that protecting the most vulnerable by providing clean air not only creates a more inclusive society but it also benefits everyone?
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More importantly, when will we finally recognise that protecting the most vulnerable by providing clean air not only creates a more inclusive society but it also benefits everyone?
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