Why the UK is Now Less Equipped for a Pandemic Than Before COVID Hit

Campaigners are calling on the UK government to bolster its readiness in anticipation of another COVID-19-level pandemic.

The appeal was raised just as the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry releases its fourth report, which evaluates the country's response during the 2020 pandemic. The findings will include recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine development and rollout.

A recent YouGov survey revealed 69 per cent of NHS staff said they were not confident about the UK's ability to deal with another pandemic, the Daily Star reported. That majority described the national health service is 'inadequately prepared,' while none of the 1,006 polled said they were 'very well prepared.'

Is the UK Prepared for Another COVID-19 Pandemic?

'Despite living through the horrors of the pandemic, we find ourselves in the unbelievable situation of being less equipped as a nation to make vaccines today than we were at the start of the pandemic,' said Nichola Brook, a solicitor who works with the more than 7,000 families bereaved by COVID-19.

That's the same concern experts raised in July 2024, when the Covid inquiry released its first report. Sir Michael Marmot, professor of public health at University College London, asserted that a deeper, systemic issue must first be addressed before the government focuses on another COVID-level response.

UK Should Prioritise Preventive Health

'The lesson to me is that to prepare for the next pandemic, we need to prepare to improve the health of the population,' he told The Guardian. 'But the health inequalities have got bigger. We're in a worse state now.'

He noted how the life expectancy in the UK hasn't improved for 13 years since 2010. 'I don't know another period in peacetime since 1900 where we've gone 13 years without an improvement in life expectancy,' he added.

There's a silver lining to the problem, however. The NHS confirmed that more than 184 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in England as of February 2026. Chief medical officer Chris Whitty said that's all due to the British public's 'volunteer spirit.'

'Over a million people in the UK volunteered for clinical trials and other studies, and that was really what drove this, and it's that volunteer spirit which I think underlies many of the successes that you outline,' he stated during COVID-19 inquiry hearings in January 2025.

COVID-19 Comorbidities Must Also Be Addressed

Experts are calling for a two-pronged approach to pandemic readiness. Outside of care facilities and treatment development, they said the UK must also invest in large-scale preventive measures. These include addressing preventable illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, both COVID-19 comorbidities.

'It is now well-evidenced that products like alcohol, unhealthy food, gambling products and fossil fuels are a strong contributory factor to these non-communicable diseases,' said Gred Fell, Association of Directors of Public Health president.

Fell said that public health is imperative, with or without the threat of a pandemic. He admitted that the government is also severely lacking on that end. '[There's] simply not enough properly trained and resourced staff to carry out our role effectively,' he asserted.