UK COVID-19 public inquiry needed to learn lessons and save lives

Abstract

With the UK's official COVID-19 death toll exceeding 60 000, and data from the Office for National Statistics indicating excess deaths of more than 70 000,1 the succession of grim milestones in 2020 has shown little sign of abating, despite optimism around COVID-19 vaccination. We know all too well that every single COVID-19 death is a family devastated by loss. We are members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, a group of over 2000 people who have lost a loved one to COVID-19 in the UK.