Professor Dame Sally Davies Expresses Regret Over Covid Deaths and Responses

Professor Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer for England, became emotional and was close to tears as she apologised to families who lost loved ones during the Covid-19 pandemic while giving evidence at the UK Covid Inquiry.

During her testimony, Dame Sally said: “Maybe this is the moment to say how sorry I am to the relatives who lost their families. It wasn’t just the deaths, it was the way they died. It was horrible.” She revealed that her daughter, a young doctor working on the front line in Scotland, had shared heartbreaking stories with her. “It was harrowing, and it remains horrible,” she added.

Dame Sally, who served as CMO from 2010 to 2019, also discussed Exercise Cygnus, a 2016 simulation that tested the UK’s preparedness for a severe influenza pandemic. She stated that the exercise revealed the UK’s pandemic response was inadequate for handling such a crisis. Nevertheless, she believed the UK’s plans for a flu pandemic could be adapted to manage other pathogens effectively.

When questioned about a potential bias towards preparing for a flu pandemic, Dame Sally acknowledged a “groupthink” mentality, noting that not just the UK, but the entire global north had focused predominantly on flu preparedness. She concluded, “We did a lot of learning as we went.”