The resources below have been gathered from key sources including Government bodies, Independent SAGE, charities and campaign groups, and across the media. Published over the last 12 months, these reports and analysis cover the course of the pandemic so far, providing important evidence across each of our eight sessions.

 

• General background

• Covid-19: How prepared was the NHS?

• How did the government respond?

• Did the Government adopt the right public health strategy?

• Impact on the population 1 
  Including families, social care, disability

• Impact on frontline staff and key workers 

• Inequalities and discrimination

• Privatisation of the public's health

• Impact on the population 2
  Including schools, young people, women and mental health

• The pandemic continues 

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General background 

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1. Covid chaos: how the UK handled the coronavirus crisis
   Lydia McMullen et al., The Guardian. February 2021.

2. Independent SAGE | Following the Science
   Independent SAGE - home page with access to over 35 reports

3. Gov.UK - Public Health England
   Public Health England

4. Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE)
   SAGE

5. Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center: Home
   John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center

6. Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research
   Our World in Data – Coronavirus Pandemic

7. Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support
   Government coronavirus website

8. Coronavirus: lessons learnt
   Health and Social Care Select Committee and Science and Technology Committee.

9. All-Party Group on Coronavirus

The Impact of Covid on non-Covid care. November 2020.

Impact on Cancer and Hospital Care. November 2020.
Test and Trace. October 2020.

Lockdowns and Exit Strategies. October 2020.
Frontline Workers. September 2020.

Mental Health and Coronavirus. September 2020.

The International Perspective. September 2020.
The Bereaved and Long-Covid. August 2020.

Care Sector and the Elderly. August 2020.

Test and Trace. August 2020.

Local Government Response. August 2020.
Preparation for a Second Wave. July 2020

10.  Covid-19: The story of a pandemic. A timeline of the pandemic from the first cases in China. New         Scientist. 10 March 2021 

11. Good Law Project victory V Matt Hancock

        Guardian 21 February 2021

12.   All-party Parliamentary Group list of prelim reports)

APPG Coronavirus. Interim Report, December 2020. (Summary findings and recommendations and pdf)

 

 

Call for a public inquiry in the UK

1. What is a public inquiry? Institute for Government https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/public-inquirie

2. Guardian 20 March Michael Rosen backs calls for Covid UK public inquiry

3. Guardian 17 March Rafael Behr Johnson wants to move on from Covid – 125,000 deaths shows why we need an inquiry

4. Guardian view on a UK Covid Inquiry: now is the time  Editorial. 18 March

5. The Guardian Letters 19 March What a public inquiry into Covid must cover – Wendy Savage
   et al

6. Westminster's resistance to a Covid inquiry is the biggest reason to hold one. 18 March 2021. Stephen Dorrell

7. Bereaved families call for inquiry The Guardian 17 March

8. Interviews supporting public inquiry The Guardian 17 March

9. Polling support for public inquiry The Guardian 17 March

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International 

1. Norway: Coronavirus Commission 

2. Sweden: Independent Coronavirus Commission has publicly criticised its government failure to protect its elderly population. 
   See full report 

3. Scotland: There has been a public commitment from Nicola Sturgeon that, if re-elected, she will ensure Scotland will have a public inquiry but set up before the end of 2021  1 April 2021

4. A Collapse Foretold: How Brazil’s Covid-19 Outbreak Overwhelmed Hospitals New York Times 27 March 2021

  

1 How prepared was the NHS?

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1. Explaining covid-19 performance: what factors might predict national responses?
   BMJ. January 2021.  

2. What impact has Covid-19 had on mental health services?
   Jenny Davies, Nuffield Trust. November 2020. 

3. All-Party Group on Coronavirus - Oral Evidence Session 12
   APPG Coronavirus. November 2020.

4. How did the NHS free up hospital capacity at the start of the pandemic?
   Lauren Elias and Sarah Scobie, Nuffield Trust. August 2020. 

5. The neglect of adult social care during covid-19
   BMJ. August 2020. 

6. How Covid-19 has magnified some of social care’s key problems
   Simon Bottery, The King’s Fund. August 2020. 

7. ‘Burnt-out nursing staff’ means it will be a struggle to restart NHS services
   Laura Townsend, Nursing Notes. June 2020. 

8. Readying the NHS and adult social care in England for COVID-19
   National Audit Office. June 2020. 

9. What was Exercise Cygnus and what did it find?
   David Pegg, The Guardian. May 2020. 

10. Covid-19: Doctors sound alarm over hospital transmissions
    BMJ. May 2020. 

11. Covid-19: doctors still do not have #properPPE
    BMJ. April 2020. 

12. Half of nursing staff under pressure to work without PPE, reveals RCN
    Matt Bodell, Nursing Notes. April 2020. 

13. The Centralising Failure of Public Health England
    John Ashton, Byline Times. April 2020. 

14. The Telegraph Exercise Cygnus uncovered: the pandemic warnings buried by the government
    Paul Nuki, Telegraph. March 2020. 

15. Healthcare workers will die without adequate PPE for COVID-19, says BMA
    Matt Bodell, Nursing Notes. March 2020. 

16. The truth behind Boris Johnson’s money for the NHS
    Fund Our NHS. December 2019. 

17. Managing epidemics
    WHO. May 2018. 

18. Social determinants of health
    WHO ​

19. NHS funding: our position Kings Fund February 2021

 

2 How did the government respond?

 

1. Covid-19 vaccination: What’s the evidence for extending the dosing interval?
   BMJ. January 2021. 

2. How a string of failures by the British government helped Covid-19 to mutate
   Anthony Costello, The Guardian. December 2020. 

3. Covid 19: Christmas relaxation will overwhelm services
   BMJ. December 2020. 

4. Coronavirus: key moments – timeline | World news
   The Guardian. December 2020.

5. Five Principles and Recommendations for a COVID Communication Reset
   Independent SAGE. November 2020. 

6. Emergency plan for stopping the spread of COVID-19 in England
   Independent SAGE. October 2020.  

7. Covid-19: politicisation, “corruption,” and suppression of science
   BMJ. November 2020. 

8. Behavioral Fatigue: Real Phenomenon, Naïve Construct, or Policy Contrivance?
   Nigel Harvey, Frontiers in Psychology. November 2020. 

9. Emergency Plan for stopping the spread of COVID-19 in England
   Independent SAGE. October 2020. 

10. Covid-19: UK government must “get its act together” as modelling suggests 85 000 deaths in second wave, experts say
    BMJ. October 2020.  

11. Independent sage statement on the new uk government covid measures announced on 22nd september
    Independent SAGE. September 2020. 

12. Covid-19: Was the decision to delay the UK’s lockdown over fears of “behavioural fatigue” based on evidence?
    BMJ. August 2020. 

13. The demise of Public Health England
    BMJ. August 2020. 

14. Covid-19: Is the UK government marginalising scientists?
    BMJ. July 2020. 

15. Statement on changes to government guidance on shielding
    Independent SAGE. June 2020. 

16. England's health policy response to covid-19
    BMJ. May 2020. 

17. COVID-19: what are the options for the UK?
    Independent SAGE. May 2020. 

18. Why a Group of Behavioural Scientists Penned an Open Letter to the UK Government Questioning Its Coronavirus Response
    Ulrike Hahn et al., Behavioural Scientist. March 2020. 

19. Covid-19: why is the UK government ignoring WHO’s advice?
    BMJ. March 2020. 

20. Nurses barred from NHS 111 Covid clinical division after 60% of calls unsafe
    Guardian 1 October 2020.

21. 'It has been a trauma': nurses on 'shambolic' 111 Covid-19 clinical service Guardian 22 October 2020

 

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3 Did the government adopt the right public health strategy? 
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1. How to achieve global vaccine roll out
   Independent SAGE. February 2021. 

2. All countries should pursue a Covid-19 elimination strategy: here are 16 reasons why
   Michael Baker and Martin McKee, The Guardian. January 2021. 

3. Halting geographic spread of COVID-19
   Independent SAGE. January 2021. 

4. Elimination could be the optimal response strategy for covid-19 and other emerging pandemic diseases
   BMJ. December 2020. 

5. Covid-19: Concerns persist about purpose, ethics, and effect of rapid testing in Liverpool
   BMJ. December 2020. 

6. Is NHS Test and Trace exacerbating COVID-19 inequalities?
   Adam Briggs and Caroline Fraser, The Lancet. December 2020. 

7. The government's approach to test and trace in England – interim report
   National Audit Office. December 2020. 

8. Don’t repeat the mistakes of Test and Trace by outsourcing the Covid-19 vaccine programme
   TUC. December 2020. 

9. Covid-19: Innova lateral flow test is not fit for “test and release” strategy, say experts
   BMJ. November 2020. 

10. Letter to Liverpool MPs, covid-19 screening.
    Allyson Pollock, Anthony Brooks, Louisa Harding-Edgar, Angela Raffle. November 2020. 

11. Issues and recommendations concerning COVID-19 vaccine rollout
    Independent SAGE. November 2020. 

12. Covid-19: Government ramps up “Moonshot” mass testing
    BMJ. November 2020. 

13. Statement on the Management of NHS Test and Trace
    Independent SAGE. October 2020. 

14. A deliberate “population immunity” strategy before a vaccine: Why it wouldn't work and why it shouldn't be tried The Ind
    Independent SAGE. September 2020. 

15. Covid-19: Should the UK be aiming for elimination?
    BMJ. August 2020. 

16. A Better Way To Go: towards to a Zero COVID UK
    Independent SAGE. July 2020. 

17. Covid-19: Test and trace system is not fit for purpose, says Independent SAGE
    BMJ. June 2020.How to achieve global vaccine roll out
    Independent SAGE. February 2021. 

18. Final Integrated Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, Support (FTTIS) response to the Pandemic
    Independent Sage. June 2020. 

19. Covid-19: NHS Test and Trace releases first figures, with experts calling for improvements
    BMJ. June 2020. 

 

 

4 Impact on the population  1

Including families, social care, disability

 

1. Bereaved relatives call for an Immediate Public Inquiry into the Government's handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic
   COVID Bereaved Families for Justice. January 2021.

2. Coronavirus and the social impacts on Great Britain
   Tim Vizard, ONS. January 2021

3. Report on Long COVID
   Independent SAGE. January 2021. 

4. COVID-19 Suicide Survivors-A Hidden Grieving Population
   Sara Pinto et al., Frontiers in Psychology. December 2020. 

5. Covid-19, unemployment, and health: time for deeper solutions
   BMJ. October 2020. 

6. As if Expendable: The UK Government’s Failure to Protect Older People In Care Homes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
   Amnesty International. October 2020. 

7. Impact of COVID-19 on Children and Families
   BMJ. October 2020. 

8. State of Care | Care Quality Commission
   Care Quality Commission. October 2020.

9. Goodbye Cinderella
   National Pensioners Convention. September 2020.  

10. The COVID-19 Safe Workplace Charter and briefing document on ending work lockdowns in GB
    Independent SAGE. August 2020.

11. Adult social care and COVID-19: Assessing the impact on social care users and staff in England so far
    Karen Hodgson et al., The Health Foundation. July 2020.  

12. New analysis lays bare government's failure to protect social care from COVID-19
    The Health Foundation. July 2020. 

13. The disability report
    Scope. May 2020. 

14. Covid-19: why we need a national health and social care service
    BMJ. April 2020. 

15. Impact of COVID 19 of families
    Kirsty McKechnie, Child Poverty Action Group. July 2020.

16. Tory billionaire bankrolled ‘herd immunity’ scientist who advised PM against lockdown Open Democracy 9 April 2021

17. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/tory-billionaire-bankrolled-herd-immunity-scientist-who-advised-pm-against-lockdown/

18. Boris Johnson admits regrets over handling of first Covid wave
    Guardian 23 March 2021

19. 'Greed' and 'capitalism' helped UK's vaccines success, says PM.
    BBC 24 March 2021

20. Michael Rosen on his Covid-19 coma: ‘It felt like a pre-death, a nothingness’ …the magic of the NHS, the mismanagement of the crisis and how his near-death experience has changed him. The Guardian 30 September 2020

21. Bereaved Families for Justice action, Express March 202
    
    DNAR [blanket ‘do not attempt resuscitation’ notices put in place, not agreed in discussion with the person or their family]

22. Covid-19: Concern over 'do not resuscitate' decisions during pandemic. BBC News 18 March 2021

23. Fury at ‘do not resuscitate’ notices given to Covid patients with learning disabilities Guardian James Tapper. 13 February 2021

24. Covid-19 and the deaths of care home residents. Nuffield Trust February 2021
     

Disability:

1. Disabled people between 3 and 4 times more likely to die of Coronavirus - ONS
   Disability Rights UK. February 2021. 

2. Updated estimates of coronavirus (COVID-19) related deaths by disability status
   ONS. February 2021. 

3. Covid-19 Reveals Structural Inequalities
   Disabled People Against Cuts. January 2021. 

4. An open letter from our CEO: 100,000 deaths from Coronavirus. Two thirds of deaths are Disabled people's.
   Disability Rights UK. January 2021. 

5. COVID deaths of people with learning disabilities
   Public Health England. November 2020. 

6. Coronavirus and the social impacts on disabled people in Great Britain
   Catherine Putz and David Ainslie, ONS. November 2020. 

7. Disability Rights During COVID-19: Emergency Law and Guidelines in England
   Ivanka Antova, Medical Law Review. September 2020. 

8. Covid-19 shows that the lives of people with a learning disability are still not treated as equal - The BMJ
   BMJ. September 2020. 

9. Abandoned, forgotten and ignored - the impact of Covid-19 on Disabled people
   Inclusion London. June 2020. 

10. Covid deaths for people with learning disability in England six times average. Matthew Weaver. Guardian 12 November 2020

11. Covid-19 deaths must prompt better healthcare for people with learning disabilities Jonathan Senker Guardian 19 November 2020.

12. 6 out of 10 people who have died from COVID-19 are disabled. The Health Foundation, February 2021

 

5 Impact on frontline staff and key workers   

 

1. Over 850 health and social care workers have now died of COVID-19
   James McKay, Nursing Notes. January 2021.

2. Essential workers face major Covid-19 risk because of outdated safety rules
   TUC. January 2021.

3. Student nurses unsupported and lacked PPE despite helping on the NHS frontline, finds survey Ian Snug, Nursing Notes. November 2020.

4. Staff are already burnt out – now they face a second wave, warn NHS leaders
   Matt Bodell, Nursing Notes. October 2020.

5. Key workers report
   TUC. September 2020.

6. Key workers face social and emotional struggles during COVID-19 crisis
   The Nuffield Foundation. August 2020.

7. Complete protection from covid-19 is possible for health workers
   BMJ. July 2020.

8. Continued use of faulty and out of date PPE ‘a national scandal’
   Ian Snug, Nursing Notes. July 2020.

9. Covid-19: risks to healthcare workers and their families
   BMJ. October 2020.

10. Coronavirus leaves a third of nurses suffering from ‘severe’ mental health issues
    Laura Townsend, Nursing Notes. May 2020.

11. Covid-19: Junior doctors are worried about their physical and mental health
    BMJ. April 2020.

12. London Transport workers dying from Covid. June 2020

           

6 Inequalities and discrimination

 

1. Covid-19: Racialised stigma and inequalities
   Independent SAGE. January 2021. 

2. Covid-19 pandemic and the social determinants of health
   BMJ. January 2021. 

3. Mitigating ethnic disparities in covid-19 and beyond
   BMJ. January 2021. 

4. Investigation into the housing of rough sleepers during the COVID-19 pandemic
   National Audit Office. January 2021. 

5. Geo-social gradients in predicted COVID-19 prevalence in Great Britain: results from 1 960 242 users of the COVID-19 Symptoms Study app
   BMJ. December 2020. 

6. Why have Black and South Asian people been hit hardest by COVID-19?
   ONS. December 2020. 

7. Build Back fairer - the COVID-19 Marmot review
   The Health Foundation and Institute of Health Inequality. December 2020. 

8. COVID-19 and health inequality
   Independent SAGE. November 2020. 

9. An Avoidable Crisis: The disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities
   Lawrence Review. October 2020. 

10. Statement on cuts to laptop allocation for disadvantaged pupils
    Independent SAGE. October 2020. 

11. Disparities in the impact of COVID-19 in Black and Minority Ethnic populations
    Independent SAGE. July 2020. 

12. Beyond the data: Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME groups. Prof Kevin Fenton. June 2020. Public Health England

13. Covid-19: PHE review has failed ethnic minorities, leaders tell BMJ
    BMJ. June 2020. 

14. Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19
    Public Health England. June 2020. 

15. King's Fund - Ethnic minority deaths and Covid-19
    The King’s Fund. April 2020. 

16. Covid-19: Disproportionate impact on ethnic minority healthcare workers will be explored by government
    BMJ. April 2020. 

17. Covid-19: Two thirds of healthcare workers who have died were from ethnic minorities
    BMJ. April 2020. 

18. Health Equity in England: The Marmot Review 10 years on
    Institute of Health Inequality. February 2020.

19. Women disproportionately affected by soaring Mental Health Act detentions. Open Democracy 17 March 2021

20. Every Body Counts. Death Covid-19 and Migration By Last rights

21. The United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH)

22. The United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH): Protocol for a prospective longitudinal cohort study of healthcare and ancillary workers in UK healthcare settings

 

7 Profiteering from the public's health

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1. Covid-19: UK government faces legal action after awarding £250m in PPE contracts to jewellery company
   BMJ. November 2020. 

2. Covid-19: Government has spent billions on contracts with little transparency, watchdog says
   BMJ. November 2020. 

3. Investigation into government procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic
   National Audit Office. November 2020. 

4. The supply of personal protective equipment PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic
   National Audit Office. November 2020. 

5. Covid-19 contracts smell of cronyism – so I'm taking the government to court | Jolyon Maugham
   Jolyon Maugham, November 2020. 

6. The government's secretive Covid contracts are heaping misery on Britain | George Monbiot
   George Monbiot, October 2020. 

7. Stop private sector outsourcing, as NHS laboratories 'sidelined' for Covid-19 testing, says Unite
   Unite. September 2020. 

8. The government is using the pandemic to give contracts to cronies
   Prem Sikka, Left Foot Forward. August 2020. 

9. An Independent SAGE discussion document on contact tracing and self-isolation
   Independent SAGE. August 2020. 

10. The role of private outsourcing in the COVID-19 response
    BMA. July 2020. 

11. England’s PPE procurement failures must never happen again
    BMJ. July 2020. 

12. Peers Inquiry into Public Service Lessons from Coronavirus: Full Report
    Doctors in Unite. June 2020. 

13. Responding to Covid-19: the complexities of the social care provider market
    Nuffield Trust. May 2020. 

14. Coronavirus exposes the dangers of outsourcing in the NHS
    Helen O’Connor, GMB. March 2020. 

15. Privatised and unprepared – the NHS Supply Chain
    We Own It. 2020. 

16. Lords debate on the ending of the Public Health Laboratory Services PHLS, with the setting up of the Health Protection Agency and the transfer of PHLS labs teams to the NHS. Hansard January 200

17. Why the UK lacks an adequate testing system. Valerie Bevan. Letters, The Guardian. 6 April 2020

18. Revealed: Private company running Covid test sites spent millions of taxpayer money on snacks inews 22 March

19. No evidence £22bn test-and-trace scheme cut Covid rates in England, say MPs Public Accounts Committee on Test & Trace. (Chair, Meg Hillier) 10 Guardian March 2021

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8 Impact on the population 2

Including schools, young people, women and mental health

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1. Covid-19: Racialised stigma and inequalities
   Independent SAGE. January 2021. 

2. A 'Safe Schools' policy for re-opening education as soon as possible and mitigating the harms of closure
   Independent SAGE. January 2021. 

3. Reports Working mums: Paying the price
   TUC. January 2021. 

4. Coronavirus and higher education students
   Mark Hamilton, ONS. January 2021. 

5. A crisis exposed – how Covid-19 is impacting domestic abuse reported to the police
   Katrin Hohl and Kelly Johnson. City, University of London. December 2020. 

6. Shock new figures fuel fears of more lockdown domestic abuse killings in UK
   Mark Townsend. The Guardian. November 2020. 

7. An Urgent Plan for Safer Schools
   Independent SAGE. November 2020. 

8. Independent SAGE Statement on Universities in the context of SARS-CoV-2
   Independent SAGE. September 2020. 

9. Learning the lessons from Reopening Schools in Scotland: A six- point plan of action Independent SAGE. September 2020. 

10. Impact Of COVID-19 On Young People
    The Children’s Society. August 2020. 

11. The indirect impact of COVID-19 on women
    Talha Burki, The Lancet. August 2020. 

12. How Covid-19 is changing women's lives
    Maddy Savage, BBC. July 2020. 

13. UK Failing Domestic Abuse Victims in Pandemic
    Human Rights Watch. June 2020. 

14. Pregnant and precarious: new and expectant mums’ experiences of work during Covid-19
    TUC. June 2020. 

15. Forced out: The cost of getting childcare wrong
    TUC. June 2020. 

16. When should a school re-open?
    Independent SAGE. May 2020.

17. Covid-19: control measures must be equitable and inclusive
    BMJ. March 2020. 

18. Covid-19: re-opening universities is high risk
    BMJ. September 2020. 

19. An Urgent Plan for Safer Schools
    Independent SAGE. November 2020

20. Outgoing Children’s Commissioner ‘Covid: Make children priority after pandemic, Anne Longfield says’BBC 17 February 2021

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Mental health:

1. Pandemic has had negative impact on mental health: poll
   Toby Helm, The Guardian. February 2021. 

2. COVID-19 and mental health
   The Lancet. February 2021. 

3. The Silent Pandemic: Covid-19 and mental health
   Professor Sir Graham Thornicroft, KCL. December 2020. 

4. Trends in suicide during the covid-19 pandemic
   BMJ. November 2020. 

5. Mind warns of 'second pandemic' as it reveals more people in mental health crisis than ever recorded and helpline calls soar
   Mind. November 2020. 

6. Covid-19 and the impact on Mental Health
   Gwylan Brinkworth. GMB. October 2020. 

7. Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health need (3)
   Young Minds. October 2020. 

8. COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most countries, WHO survey
   WHO. October 2020. 

9. Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs (2)
   Young Minds. July 2020. 

10. People living with severe mental illness at heightened risk of relapse or crisis during pandemic
    Rethink Mental Illness. June 2020. 

11. Coronavirus: Impact on young people with mental health needs (1)
    Young Minds. March 2020.

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The pandemic continues 

 

Why is England doing worse against Covid than its European neighbours? 7 Oct 2021

Christina Pagel and Martin McKee

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