In March 2020, the pandemic closed in like a fog, ushering in a strange new vocabulary, alarming statistics and the fear of illness and death. In the days before the first national lockdown was ordered, the government’s chief scientific adviser suggested that a “good outcome” would be keeping UK deaths below 20,000, a number that sounded improbably awful at the time, but which has been dwarfed by the 233,791 deaths recorded as of December 2023.
The direct effects of the Covid-19 virus have been profound and continue to be felt, including by those with long Covid. But four years on, the UK is also reeling from the broader health impacts of the pandemic. Babies and children appear to have suffered developmental setbacks due to lengthy periods of isolation. Access to healthcare continues to be affected. Older people, who needed protecting most from Covid, were also uniquely vulnerable to the effects of physical inactivity. For some individuals, the pandemic prompted a rethink of priorities and provided new opportunities that paved the way for a healthier life.
