- THE TELEGRAPH - KAROL SIKORA - March 9, 2023 -
My lockdown inbox was overflowing with desperate cancer patients whose treatment had been indefinitely postponed
Opposing the relentless raft of lockdown policies was a lonely and, at times, extremely unpleasant experience. Those of us who voiced concerns about effectively closing down a country were labelled as far-Right extremists who were happy to see millions perish to the disease. It was a disgrace, legitimised by low-grade politicians such as Matt Hancock who were far too interested in advancing their own public image. Thousands succumbed to the destructive, and often pointless, lockdown measures they pushed at every opportunity.
There will be no apologies from the baying lockdown mob – the damage has been done, the debate has mostly moved on and the inquiry may well become a total whitewash. The Telegraph’s lockdown files have done a great service in partially halting that march.
I remember the dark days of lockdown. The usual voices using the horrific daily death tolls to beat and abuse lockdown sceptics, blaming us for every single poor soul contained in those figures, and taking immense glee from ratcheting up the vile language to garner more Twitter likes. Many of those voices are now totally silent on the thousands and thousands of non-Covid excess deaths related to lockdown delays and backlogs. I have no regrets in my opposition to a variety of lockdown policies and the language I used throughout the pandemic – I wonder if they can say the same?
We now know for sure that some decisions taken were based in PR and politics, rather than science and sense. When the Health Secretary is talking about “frightening the pants off everyone” with a new strain, those of us who voiced scepticism at the time about the language used can feel vindicated.
People needed facts, honesty and a little bit of hope to make their own decisions on their acceptable level of risk. What they got was deceit and spin, undermining confidence in public health for generations to come. Hancock has no legacy to be proud of, but he was just one member of the pro-lockdown brigade, the vast majority of whom won’t have their private correspondence splashed across a national newspaper. Yet, even with these leaks – a tiny percentage of the real truth – the lockdown house of cards has already begun to tumble. It can’t and won’t withstand any more pressure.
I’m desperate for a Covid inquiry whitewash to be avoided for one simple reason: this cannot be allowed to happen again. If we don’t at least ask the questions, when another pandemic, or the threat of one, comes around, lockdown cannot be the go-to option. The advisers who made the past recommendations cannot be used ever again.
The outright denial from many to even acknowledge the vast lockdown harm does not fill me with confidence. Seeing supposedly well-qualified individuals perform remarkable mental gymnastics to avoid coming to the obvious conclusion is a demeaning sight. Routine healthcare for non-Covid conditions was effectively shut down to millions for months on end, and now we have thousands and thousands of non-Covid excess deaths. What did they think would happen, honestly?
My lockdown inbox was overflowing with desperate cancer patients whose treatment had been indefinitely postponed. I remember one case of a mother who had her chemotherapy cancelled, leading to her tragic death leaving behind three young children and a loving husband. And it’s not just cancer: cardiac issues untreated, blood pressure out of control, strokes uncared for, other preventative measures forgotten and of course soaring obesity. The post-lockdown crisis is across all aspects of healthcare, physical and mental. That is for those lucky enough to receive any medical support or diagnosis at all. Others were told to stay home and that’s exactly what they did – dying there without the care they needed and deserved.
To those of you who took a brave stand speaking out against various restrictions and policies – from me, a sincere thank you. We comprehensively lost the argument in the court of public opinion, but hopefully a small difference was made. I suspect the national mood may have significantly shifted over the last week. Sunlight is the best disinfectant after all, and spring is on the way.