{"id":115125,"date":"2021-05-26T10:38:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T10:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=115125"},"modified":"2021-05-26T10:38:14","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T10:38:14","slug":"uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>&quot;The point was herd immunity was regarded as an unavoidable fact,&quot; Dominic Cummings said.<\/li>\n<li>The government has repeatedly denied this was the case. <\/li>\n<li>Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a disease, making it unlikely to spread and protecting the rest of the community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>LONDON \u2014 The U.K. government pursued a strategy of so-called &quot;herd immunity&quot; in response to the coronavirus crisis, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson&#x27;s former advisor, saying he is &quot;completely baffled&quot; by attempts from Downing Street to say otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>The government has repeatedly denied this was the case. Herd immunity occurs when enough of a population is immune to a disease, making it unlikely to spread and protecting the rest of the community.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;The point was herd immunity was regarded as an unavoidable fact,&quot; Dominic Cummings said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;That was the plan. I&#x27;m completely baffled as to why number 10 is trying to deny that because that was the official plan. You can see it in the COBR documents that I have brought along,&quot; he added, referring to the acronym for Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms.<\/p>\n<p>Cummings claimed government officials had briefed senior journalists at the time that this was their official strategy.<\/p>\n<p>The controversial former Vote Leave campaign director for the 2016 Brexit referendum appeared before a parliamentary committee to deliver an on-camera testimony of the government&#x27;s initial response to the coronavirus outbreak.<\/p>\n<p>It comes as senior lawmakers investigate how Johnson&#x27;s government responded to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and whether delays in decision-making resulted in\u00a0avoidable deaths.<\/p>\n<p>To date, the U.K. has recorded more than 4.4 million Covid cases and over 128,000 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;The truth is that senior ministers, senior officials, senior advisors like me, fell disastrously short of the standards that the public has a right to expect of its government in a crisis like this,&quot; Cummings said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;When the public needed us most, the government failed,&quot; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Cummings worked as chief advisor to the prime minister after Johnson was appointed prime minister in July 2019. He helped the Conservative Party leader secure a general election victory in December 2019 but left his role at the end of last year amid reports of infighting inside Downing Street.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;I think this is a really important point to register, the government itself and number 10 was not operating on a war footing in February on this in any way shape, or form. Lots of key people were literally skiing in the middle of February,&quot; Cummings said.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;It wasn&#x27;t until the last week of February that there was really any sort of sense of urgency I would say in terms of number 10 and the Cabinet Office.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2021\/05\/26\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-strategy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&quot;The point was herd immunity was regarded as an unavoidable fact,&quot; Dominic Cummings said. The government has repeatedly denied this was the case. Herd immunity [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":115124,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&quot;The point was herd immunity was regarded as an unavoidable fact,&quot; Dominic Cummings said. The government has repeatedly denied this was the case. Herd immunity [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Fin2me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/UK-PM-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-Covid-response-strategy.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/\",\"name\":\"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Business\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/category\/business\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/\",\"name\":\"Fin2me\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a\",\"name\":\"Mark\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me","og_description":"&quot;The point was herd immunity was regarded as an unavoidable fact,&quot; Dominic Cummings said. The government has repeatedly denied this was the case. Herd immunity [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/","og_site_name":"Fin2me","article_published_time":"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00","author":"Mark","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/UK-PM-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-Covid-response-strategy.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/","url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/","name":"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy - Fin2me","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-26T10:38:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/uk-pm-former-top-aide-says-herd-immunity-was-governments-covid-response-strategy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Business","item":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/category\/business\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"UK PM former top aide says herd immunity was government&#x27;s Covid response strategy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/","name":"Fin2me","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ad0e9920e03d3b41c7ad02a18375d76a","name":"Mark","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39b72719fb75a2d3c7d7695026648602?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}