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Despite great advances in hospital care, deaths continue to rise, with the UK seeing the biggest year on year increase since 1940 2 More and younger people are being admitted to hospital, more people are living with long covid,3 and hospitals and general practices are stretched to breaking point, with absence resulting from illness and self-isolation adding to the strain on remaining staff 45 The vaccination programme is under way but will take months to reduce rates of infection, even with the UK’s controversial decision to delay second doses 6 Why were doctors and nurses not at the front of the queue? Vaccination of healthcare workers should be prioritised for safety and morale,7 and to reduce hospital acquired infection 8 Doctors have had varied experiences accessing the vaccine, with some travelling across the country to secure their first jab while others have been frustrated by no word from their employer 9 Please let us know if you are having difficulty getting vaccinated (newsdesk@bmj com) Disastrously, there has been no sign of “systems thinking,”10 with even the basics—find, test, trace, isolate, and support—still largely undelivered 11 Blaming individuals for not following the restrictions serves only to hide the real frailties of government policy 12 Mass testing of asymptomatic people is being expanded despite no good evidence that it reduced cases in Liverpool 13 The role of asymptomatic spread may have been exaggerated,14 and community testing with lateral flow tests may increase rather than reduce transmission 15 Money being squandered on mass testing of asymptomatic people would be better spent on practical support for those unable to self-isolate, at the very least providing free accommodation and income support 13 The world’s health professionals will do all they can, but ever widening divisions will take time to heal 1 Baker MG Wilson N Blakely T Elimination could be the optimal response strategy for covid-19 and other emerging pandemic diseases
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