April 21, 2020

statement from independent members of the Government advisory group NERVTAG regarding the threat level from COVID-19

Independent scientists sitting on NERVTAG (New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group) have drafted a statement to clarify a point being reported by several media outlets, and being put to them by several journalists, regarding the threat level from COVID-19.

Prof Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Oxford, and Chair of NERVTAG said:

“The PHE/NERVTAG risk assessment judgment on 21 February has been misunderstood. The risk assessment tool was developed and used by PHE/NERVTAG for assessing the current, not future risk, of emerging viruses. It is dynamic, and the assessment on the 21st February was that the risk of COVID-19 was moderate “at this time”. The minutes of that meeting are clear that members thought this risk was likely to increase. Also, it is not intended for use as a trigger for actions during a pandemic. To the best of my knowledge it did not lead to any action/inaction on the part of Govt and the suggestion that it contributed to fatal delays is misleading.”

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19/

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