Welsh Government backs four-nation pandemic plan built on Covid-19 lessons
Wales has endorsed a new UK-wide pandemic preparedness strategy published today, with all four nations backing a framework of guiding principles for responding to future health emergencies.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles made the endorsement through a written statement to the Senedd.
Jeremy Miles said: “This is an important document, which will help ensure Wales is better prepared in the event of a future pandemic or emergency.”
The strategy is built on lessons from COVID-19 and informed by findings from the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, as well as early findings from Exercise Pegasus.
Jeremy Miles described Exercise Pegasus in his statement as the largest non-military exercise ever to take place in the UK, with full reports due from both the UK and Welsh governments by the end of 2026.
The exercise tested the ability of governments to respond quickly and effectively during a prolonged crisis and involved all regions and nations of the UK.
The UK Government document sets out 12 guiding principles, covering areas including protecting those most at risk, building flexible response capabilities, preparing for all five main routes of disease transmission, and taking a One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
COVID-19 killed more than 200,000 people in the UK and left significant numbers with long-term health consequences, according to the strategy.
The National Risk Register’s reasonable worst-case scenario projects half the UK population falling ill in an unmitigated respiratory pandemic, with 1.34 million hospitalisations and 840,000 deaths.
The strategy document states that a future pandemic is a certainty, with only its timing and cause unknown.
Jeremy Miles said the pandemic had “demonstrated the crucial importance of the four UK governments working together in a co-ordinated manner, while respecting devolution and the unique needs of each part of the UK, in the event of a national public health emergency.”
Existing areas of four-nation collaboration include co-ordinated disease surveillance between the UK Health Security Agency and the public health agencies of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, shared procurement of vaccines, medicines and personal protective equipment, and shared data platforms.
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