Voices: ‘We haven’t learned anything’: Readers despair over UK’s Covid response in 2025

Readers have called for better ventilation, face masks and vaccines - (Getty/iStock)

Big disasters often change how we see the world.

The Lisbon earthquake in 1755 shook people’s faith in religion. After the 1918 flu pandemic, there was growing interest in fresh air, better hygiene, and healthier living spaces – ideas that influenced architecture and public health policy at the time.