On Friday 13th March CATA (Covid Airborne Transmission Alliance) release a press release (below)
about a report they have prepared that examines the conduct of the UK’s 4-Nations Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Cell during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on Freedom of Information evidence and internal documents, it raises concerns about decisions affecting healthcare worker protection and whether critical evidence was withheld from the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
This report examines key decisions made in March 2020 that changed how COVID-19 was managed in the UK healthcare system. It explores the relationship between the downgrade in respiratory protection for healthcare workers and the declassification of COVID-19 as a High Consequence Infectious Disease, and the potential consequences for staff safety.
The full report prepared by CATA into the behaviour of the UK-IPC cell can be seen below following a summary of some of the key points.
When will the policymakers will admit the mistakes they, perhaps seemingly, made? SHH-UK have discussed this issue with the four UK Chief Nursing Officers on several occasions and we know others have too.
We can only wonder how many healthcare workers would have NOT developed Long Covid if policy makers had followed the science?
Drawing on Freedom of Information requests, Inquiry documents and internal communications, the investigation raises concerns about governance, transparency, and the handling of scientific evidence regarding airborne transmission. It describes repeated challenges from experts and senior officials who argued for wider use of FFP3 respirators as evidence of airborne spread increased. According to the report, these recommendations were repeatedly rejected despite growing scientific support and adequate respirator supply.
The report also highlights alleged issues including altered meeting minutes, withheld documents, and tensions between public health experts and senior decision-makers. It questions whether reputational concerns and institutional pressures influenced IPC guidance.
While the report does not make legal determinations, it presents evidence suggesting potential failures in occupational safety protections for healthcare workers and calls for the UK COVID-19 Inquiry to examine these issues further. Its authors argue that understanding these decisions is essential for transparency, accountability, and improving pandemic preparedness in the future.
More than 1 in 10 of 1,496 US healthcare personnel reported the same moderate or severe symptom at both three and six months after COVID-19. Read the findings, limitations and what they may mean for SHH-UK readers.
Join SHH-UK’s online support groups for healthcare workers with Long Covid this October and November. Connect, chat and share with others.
A large US study of almost 2,000 children and adolescents found that those meeting the research threshold for probable Long COVID were more likely to experience difficulties with grades, attention and participation with friends.
