Chris Whitty admits 'some may say we overstated risk of Covid to public' at start of pandemic

26 September 2024, 15:28 | Updated: 26 September 2024, 16:36

Chris Whitty
Chris Whitty. Picture: Covid Inquiry

By Kit Heren

Chris Whitty has told the Covid inquiry that some onlookers might say the UK overstated the risk that the virus posed to the public at the start of the pandemic.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

Prof Whitty, the UK's chief medical officer, said he still worries about whether the government and its advisers found the right balance between public protections and personal freedoms.

He said: “I was worried at the beginning. I still worry, actually in retrospect, about whether we got the level of concern right,” he said.

“Were we either over pitching it so that people were incredibly afraid of something where in fact, their actuarial risk was low, or we were not pitching it enough and therefore people didn’t realise the risk they were walking into.

“I think that balance is really hard, and arguably, some people would say we, if anything we overdid it, rather than under [at] the beginning.”

Read more: 'Old fashioned' ways are best to stay young: Chris Whitty reveals best ways to live longer

Read more: Boris Johnson to tell Covid Inquiry he 'delayed first lockdown based on Chris Whitty's advice'

Chris Whitty
Chris Whitty. Picture: Getty

But he said that the arguments against widespread Covid restrictions were "obviously not true", and said that they should not be followed in any future pandemic - "unless you can demonstrate it."

He added: "I think we probably should have been swifter off the mark in spotting long Covid as it emerged, although I think we were relatively quick and it wasn't obvious, we could have done something different as a result.

"The main thing we could do at the beginning, before we understood it slightly better, was to reduce the amount of Covid. If you don't get Covid, you don't get long Covid."

Discussing the shielding of elderly and vulnerable people, Prof Whitty said the policy had pluses and minuses.

The government's message: 'Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives' is shown in lights on the rotating display near the top of the BT Tower in the Fitzrovia area of London as the UK continues in lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The government's message: 'Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives' is shown in lights on the rotating display near the top of the BT Tower in the Fitzrovia area of London as the UK continues in lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Alamy

He said: "I think it was beneficial in one way, harming another way, and uncertain in a third."

Asked if he would consider a similar approach in a future pandemic, he added: "There are two things I would definitely do. I think shielding, I'm unsure about, it would depend on the situation.

"I definitely think that the risk classification is really important because there are many other things that flow from them. And indeed, you don't know what will flow from them always when you do it.

"And secondly, I do think it's important to put in place a mechanism to support people who rationally have chosen to take themselves out of society, to better their ability to protect themselves.

"Whether the particular approach to shielding we took is an appropriate one to use, again, in respiratory infection, I honestly don't know."

A locked and deserted children's playground in Southwark in 2020
A locked and deserted children's playground in Southwark in 2020. Picture: Alamy

Prof Whitty was also asked about the use of FFP3 masks and FRSM masks (fluid-resistant surgical masks) at the Covid-19 Inquiry on Thursday.

Inquiry counsel Jacqueline Carey said that when the virus was declassified as a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in March 2020, guidance from UK Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) "effectively said FFP3s for AGPs (aerosol generating procedures), or hotspots where AGPs are going to be done, FRSM in the other areas".

She asked: "Do you think that was perceived by some in the profession as a downgrading of PPE that was required?"

Prof Whitty said: "I'm very confident you find some people who thought that was a downgrading, but I think most people would see that as a quite normal sequence.

"They may or may not agree with it, but they would see that as, it's not a sort of downgrading, it's simply a move from an HCID to an infectious disease, for which you have standard precautions for that level of risk."

Harrowing Covid-19 stories published by inquiry

Ms Carey asked if he thought "that message was sufficiently well communicated to healthcare workers".

Prof Whitty replied that it was not his area of expertise, but added: "I think that this is a recommendation I would invite the inquiry to consider.

"I think that the messaging near the beginning of this was quite confused.

"And I think the reason that it was confused was it was not entirely clear who was ultimately responsible for making decisions in this fast-moving situation."

Professor Chris Whitty giving a televised press conference in 2020
Professor Chris Whitty giving a televised press conference in 2020. Picture: Alamy

He added: "I think that quite a lot of people thought they were partially responsible, and that's always an extremely difficult and dangerous situation to find yourself in.

"So it wasn't that people were trying to walk away from responsibility, but the quite complex system by which Public Health England, as it then was, the infection control cell, NHS delivery of various things, were interacting - and that's before we get into issues of procurement and distribution, which had a separate set of challenges - I think works fine if you're changing every six months or so in a reasonably measured way, up against the speed of changes that were needed, I think it led to uncertainty.

"It wasn't deliberate in any sense, and it wasn't anybody, as I say, trying to walk away from responsibility, but uncertainty as to who finally was actually trying to both call this and communicate it."

Chris Whitty
Chris Whitty. Picture: Getty

Prof Whitty said one of the things which "we got wrong" during the early stages of the pandemic was communication between people giving infection control guidance and those working on the frontline.

He added: "It is sensible to say to people: 'Our advice is professionally, we don't think this makes a difference, but if you feel this is important for your particular situation, this is available for you'. And that might have been tricky right at the beginning because of what was available in the country at that point."

He said that he did not use FFP3 masks when he was on the wards with people with Covid-19, adding: "My view about this is the guidance is usually there for a perfectly logical set of reasons.

"I did what I what was recommended, not out of the point of principle, but just because I think: 'Fine, that's what the experts have recommended. I'm comfortable with that.'

"But people clearly weren't comfortable, and that that was our failure, was the fact people did not feel, for understandable reasons, comfortable."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

There were reports of vehicles being damaged and burned out, stolen cars, motorbikes being used and bricks thrown at officers amid the disorder, Greater Manchester Police said.

Girl, 16, charged with assaulting an emergency worker in Salford after ‘60 masked youths’ clash with police

The affected products include the Jolly Rancher Hard Candy, “Misfits” Gummies, Hard Candy Fruity 2 in 1, and Berry Gummies, the FSA said.

'Don't eat them': Brits told to avoid popular American sweets linked to cancer amid 'toxicological concern'

A woman has been arrested after a four-year-old boy was found dead in Dunholme End.

Boy, 4, found dead inside Maidenhead home as police arrest woman on suspicion of murder

Exclusive
Caz Holbrook, 54, said 2023 was a "very stressful" year after her landlord evicted her and her 15-year-old son from their home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire

I was evicted after Liz Truss's budget tanked the economy – my son and I ended up in a beetle-infested flat

St Michael's Church, Mytholmroyd

Village church ordered to silence 'cherished' chiming bells after residents' complaints spark huge row

The Bridgerton actress said she has been left with a concussion and "on edge" - and the incident traumatised her dog.

Bridgerton actress Genevieve Chenneour left 'traumatised' after fighting off phone thief who threatened to 'stab' her

Shopper walking through the aisle of a supermarket.

Deadly disease outbreak linked to 'contaminated' UK supermarket item

Demonstrators gathered outside Stoke Newington Police Station in protest against police in schools, after it emerged that a 15-year-old Black girl ('Child Q') was strip-searched by police at a Hackney school, which is thought to be racially motivated.

Officer who strip-searched black schoolgirl while she was on her period admits failings but denies racist motivation

Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England

My mum finds Jude Bellingham’s on-field antics repulsive, says Thomas Tuchel

The jury found him not guilty of an additional sexual assault charge and have not yet returned a verdict on a charge of rape.

Harvey Weinstein found guilty in New York sexual assault retrial but acquitted on second charge

Riot police vans at Clonavon Terrace, Ballymena, as people take part in a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the Co Antrim town.

Residents 'fear for their lives' in third night of Ballymena riots as 'masked thugs set leisure centre alight'

Brian Wilson performs Pet Sounds at the Pantages Theatre on May 26, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

Legendary Beach Boys co-founder and primary songwriter Brian Wilson dies aged 82

England head coach Thomas Tuchel.

'I'm in the right place': Thomas Tuchel wants to extend England head coach job until Euro 2028

The Lower Broughton Road in Salford.

Rioting erupts and 16-year-old girl arrested in Salford as ‘60 masked youths’ clash with police and 'set fire to car'

Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu following their doubles match defeat to Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe on day three of the HSBC Championships at The Queen's Club, London

Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter beaten in the doubles at Queens

In the latest development in the family's ongoing feud, the 26-year-old has reportedly quashed any attempts from the superstar couple to make up

Brooklyn Beckham 'cuts contact' with parents David and Victoria amid family rift over wife Nicola Peltz