Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 168
168
Acknowledged
Professor Martin explained to us that early in the pandemic there were “very severe constraints...
Conclusion
Professor Martin explained to us that early in the pandemic there were “very severe constraints in equipment and consumables” which acted as a drag on testing capacity: Bear in mind that those were all new tests coming on stream at the beginning of the pandemic. Effectively, there was not enough to go round. It was global; it was not just the UK. There was a global shortage of the consumables. […] There are big international suppliers that have capped the UK supply of consumables251
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledges the need for a resilient and scalable infrastructure for test, trace, and isolate, committing to build on existing responses and work with local authorities and UKHSA for future public health emergencies, but does not specifically address the previous constraints in equipment and consumables.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government · verbatim extract
Acknowledged
In respect of test, trace and isolate, the government will build on the legacy of the response to this pandemic. As the government has set out in the ‘Living with COVID- 19’ strategy,2 this includes ensuring that a resilient and scalable infrastructure is in place to protect the public from new and existing threats to health. It will involve working closely with local authorities to ensure they have the knowledge, experience, and capability to support future contact tracing arrangements and to draw down expert advice to deploy for greatest public health benefit; for example the capacity to respond to future public health emergencies. UKHSA, established during the pandemic, will also maintain the well-established relationships with local tracing arrangements within all local authorities.
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