• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Captain Sir Tom Moore was a reminder that in a pandemic, all lives matter

Tributes to the centenarian have replaced ill-judged notions that coronavirus 'only' kills the most vulnerable.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
February 3, 2021
in Opinion

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis there has been one statistic that has emboldened the anti-lockdown mob more than anything else; that those who are over 80 or have pre-existing health conditions are far more likely to die of the disease than anybody else.

In December, as a new strain of Covid ripped through the country, the Daily Mail proudly trumpeted that only “388 people aged under 60 with ‘no underlying health conditions’ have died of Covid in England’s hospitals”.

It galvanised lockdown sceptics such as Julia Hartley-Brewer, who managed to escape the festive shutdown by flying to Antigua, and former Brexit MEP Claire Fox who called for restrictions to be eased in January.

Had that happened who is to say how it would have impacted fatalities – but 100,000 and counting with restrictions paints a telling picture.

“We don’t hold their lives to be valueless”

Thankfully not everyone was as willing to be misled.

The MP for Harborough Neil O’Brien hit back at the time: “The below is wrong at several levels. In England and Wales, 65,000 aged 65+ have died with it, plus over 7,400 working age people.

“Many had prior medical conditions, but we don’t hold their lives to be valueless because Britain isn’t a fascist state.”

RelatedPosts

Elevenses: Thatcher’s ‘Personal Society’ Persists

Elevenses: Should Matt Hancock Resign?

Britain’s housing crisis: Tory policies are delaying the anticipated crash

We are on the cusp of an industrial rebirth that could make Britain the envy of the world once again

Dr Dominic Pimenta, chairman of the Healthcare Workers’ Foundation, also pointed out that the statistics were misleading because the ‘pre-existing conditions’ category is broad and can range from trivial issues to life-threatening illnesses.

He said: “In England and Wales alone there have been over 7,400 Covid deaths in the under 65s, and nearly 8,600 excess deaths compared to the five-year average.

“With a vaccine already here, those still arguing for mass infection and protecting those at risk is neither practical or ethical, nor economically or scientifically literate.”

The death of a “national treasure”

Yet suggestions that the most vulnerable should, at least in some ways, be sacrificed for the greater good has persisted throughout the second peak.

“Why should the young, the fit and the able be kept out of the pub if they are unlikely to die of the virus?”, seems to be the insinuation. “Surely keeping the economy ticking over is more important” is another.

At least, that is, until a “national treasure” passed away after spending the final years of his life in the spotlight for the tremendous work he has done for the NHS.

Hartley-Brewer led the tributes, seemingly forgetting what her stance had been a few months prior:

Oh *now* the over 80s matter pic.twitter.com/QoHcp7pTE0

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) February 2, 2021

While Ash Sarkar was rounded on for pointing out the obvious:

There'll be an awful lot of people mourning Captain Tom today, who've spent the last year downplaying coronavirus deaths by saying that they're mostly made up of elderly and unwell people.

— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) February 2, 2021

Of course many people’s viewpoints will be nuanced, but if the last 24 hours has taught us anything it is that during a pandemic all lives matter. With a vaccine on the way we will soon be able to reflect on the many lives we saved by making small sacrifices, staying at home and watching Netflix.

Related: Has Britain’s flag fetish gone too far?

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Undated handout photo issued by Gwent Police of Ruth Williams, whose husband, Anthony, is accused of killing his wife of 44 years during the coronavirus lockdown. PA Photo. Issue date: Tuesday March 31, 2020.

‘Exasperating’ – Campaigners slam decision not to review lockdown killing of woman by husband

‘Not good enough’ – anger over decision not to prioritise teachers for vaccine

Millionaires send plea to governments asking them to ‘tax us’

All for just £1,750! Treated like ‘animals’ and ‘prisoners’ says quarantine hotel traveller

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.