As the National Audit Office [NAO] reveals less than half of the UK will receive a COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, the government needs to drastically improve its strategy and delivery of rapid and reliable testing.
Vast swathes of the economy are currently idle, stuck in a nightmarish limbo which prevents them from trading. Sadly, without swift, efficient solutions to the testing fiasco, many businesses risk total annihilation. The arrival of a vaccine had many celebrating but its lengthy delivery has already dampened the mood.
News that NHS England and NHS Improvement are ‘planning on the assumption it could vaccinate up to 25 million people with two doses throughout 2021’ is still hugely positive. When combined with an expanded flu vaccination programme, it will help account for an additional 64.1 million vaccinations compared to 2019-20. These are astonishing numbers for a 12-month programme and no small feat.
Impressive as that is, it fails to address the immediate problems for a worrying-high number of businesses. Frustratingly for them, the numbers do not suggest a quick return to life-before-the-pandemic. Instead, it’s likely to be a long, expensive road before there’s any real, impactful end to the current situation.
‘We need more testing, it’s as simple as that,’ explains Nick Baxter, founder of Covid Safe UK, a collective of businesses helping other organisations build safe, Covid-secure environments for their workforces.
‘The government needs to have a better strategy to deliver comprehensive testing programmes. Businesses across the country are absorbing the costs of testing themselves, that’s a necessity if they’re to continue servicing their clients, but the general public needs access to these kits too.
‘We understand the costs, Covid Safe UK’s Rapid Covid Tests are available at a third of their usual price but that’s still £49 per test or a pack of 20 for £500. If we’re to get the economy moving though, it’s a necessary cost but it’s not something the majority of us can afford to do. That’s why we need more support from the government. It’s the only way to get consumers safely back on the high streets and supporting these businesses.’
The costs associated with the UK’s COVID-19 response have been well documented, as has many of the projected costs to come. To put the requirements of a vaccine roll out into perspective, NHS England and NHS Improvement calculate that if three-quarters of the adult population had two doses of vaccine it would need a total of 46,000 NHS staff, with 26,000 of them administering the injection.
‘That’s why we must look at Rapid Covid Tests as a primary short-term solution to the devastating, long-term impacts on our economy,’ adds Baxter. ‘It’s the only option if we’re to save the hospitality and leisure industries, who simply will not survive another year like this.’
