- Aug 20, 2013
- 6,163
- 15,641
That's true, but it was top of the government scientists' list of potential disasters, well above terrorism, nuclear meltdowns etc. In fact, it'd been top for some time, and a pandemic with ~65k deaths in the UK was given a likelihood of about 2% per year. That might seem low, but it implies a risk of over 55% over 40 years; this was ultimately a matter of when rather than if. We really should have been better prepared and these documents from before the crisis show that it isn't a matter of hindsight.I agree, although hindsight is a beautiful thing. A pandemic like this is only one of many similar things we should have been prepared for, but even after this i think it's highly unlikely there will be much change in people's thinking on those other areas.
Leaked Cabinet Office briefing on UK pandemic threat – the key points
From management of excess deaths to public outrage, 2019 document set out likely social and economic risks
www.theguardian.com