One of the biggest mistakes made in previous lockdowns was to neglect non-Covid healthcare, cancer especially. As we prepare for an Omicron wave, might we be about to make the same mistake? Chris Whitty was asked this in a parliamentary inquiry recently and he was surprisingly dismissive. ‘This is sometimes said by people who have no understanding of health at all. But it’s not said by anyone serious, if I’m, honest,’ he said.
Contrary to what Professor Whitty suggests, several serious people are very worried about what might happen to cancer if there is too narrow a focus on Covid. Take Clive Dix, ex-head of the vaccine taskforce, he recently stressed how the current drive for boosters could have a distortive effect on general healthcare:
Given that young and healthy people not only have a very low chance of suffering severe Covid in the first place — but also already have substantial immunity from severe disease thanks to the first two jabs — I cannot see how boosting them is more valuable for public health than doubling our focus on the most vulnerable and cracking down on the backlog of chronically sick patients, such as those with hypertension, diabetes or even cancer.
The National Audit Office has estimated there has been 740,000 less urgent cancer referrals since the start of lockdown — with as many as 60,000 people with missed cancers.
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