I had occasion to access my local NHS surgery online system and noted an extraordinary notification as follows:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Get information about coronavirus on NHS.UK. Do not book a GP appointment if you think you might have coronavirus.
Stay at home and avoid close contact with other people. Use the 111 coronavirus service to see if you need medical help.
What I like about this is that unusually in the time of Covid there is no ambiguity to this. The message is very clear, we are on your own. However, this is less encouraging for anyone who has been exposed to the 111 “service”. The service is an arbitrage system which relies upon hamstrung staff asking a selection of checklist questions. The 111 staff have limited autonomy, limited information and are really trapped into doing work that could quite possibly be better done by a robot.
Given this scenario there is little wonder that people are inclined to use A&E as their primary healthcare provider. Furthermore there is little wonder people are looking to go it alone with the aid of Google.
The problem is further complicated by the fact that our previously reliable sources of information, such as Government or mainstream media, the BBC in the UK have sort to influence on some occasions openly aided by behavioral psychologists, “Fact checkers” and Big Tech as opposed to seeking to inform. Worse than that it has attempted to silence open debate by framing challenge as conspiracy theories, only for these same theories to become mainstream with the passing of time. In a nutshell communication integrity has been completely lost. Where previously people were prepared to go along with the perceived wisdom, “Big Pharma really does work for the common good” they are now more inclined to follow the money.
Given a loss of communication and along with it trust Governments should not seek to mandate interventions such as vaccines either directly of indirectly via coercive measures. By the same token little might we might wonder that given limited reliable sources people would seek to take control by seeking out potential Covid 19 prophylactics or remedies, in the form of antivirals and vitamin’s.