{"id":50332,"date":"2021-05-26T17:17:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=50332"},"modified":"2021-06-01T16:46:40","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T15:46:40","slug":"the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government’s current emphasis on personal responsibility and showing “common sense” once again displaces blame for their ineffective response to covid-19, says Simon Williams<\/p>\n

On 17 March last year, writing in <\/span>BMJ Opinion<\/span><\/a>, I argued that the UK government\u2019s focus on avoiding handshakes (along with handwashing and other hygiene measures) as a means to prevent the spread of coronavirus placed too much responsibility in the hands of the public at the expense of quick, decisive, and effective policy. We now know that the decision to delay lockdown ultimately cost <\/span>many lives.<\/span><\/a> However, 14 months later, we yet again find ourselves in a position where the government is attempting to shift attention away from its slow and indecisive policies and onto the public through a \u201cpersonal responsibility\u201d rhetoric, which this time includes a focus on the need for<\/span> \u201ccaution\u201d when hugging<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On 17 May this year, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, attributed a majority of hospitalisations in Bolton to <\/span>vaccine hesitancy<\/span><\/a>, while a senior government minister <\/span>was reported<\/span><\/a> to have referred to those refusing the vaccine as \u201cidiots\u201d who could \u201cruin it for everyone else.” These comments were reported on the same date that significant policy restrictions were eased to permit <\/span>much more indoor socialising<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

More recently, on 25 May, it was reported that a \u201cstay local\u201d advisory was put into place in eight \u201chotspot\u201d areas in England, where B.1.617.2 (the so called \u201cIndian variant\u201d) is rising. Here, once more, the <\/span>emphasis is on the public taking responsibility<\/span><\/a> to be \u201ccautious\u201d in these areas, despite the government rolling out a national easing of restrictions only a week earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, maximising vaccine uptake is crucial in order to curtail the pandemic and <\/span>protect us against the virus<\/span><\/a>, including its new variants. However, this focus on vaccine hesitancy and exercising caution detracts attention from the fact that the B.1.617.2 variant should never have been allowed to spread as readily or quickly as it has done in the UK in the first place. A number of prominent <\/span>scientists<\/span><\/a> argued<\/span><\/a> that India should be placed on the travel \u201c<\/span>red list<\/span><\/a>\u201d <\/span>before the government finally took this step on 23 April<\/span><\/a>. Moreover, with cases of B.1.617.2 reportedly doubling each week<\/a>, it appears as though, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, the<\/span> test and trace system<\/span><\/a> is so far failing to nip any emerging local outbreaks in the bud.<\/span><\/p>\n

In March last year, <\/span>I argued<\/span><\/a> that \u201c<\/span>the government\u2019s rationale for holding fire on more extensive and mandatory social distancing policies seems to be their belief that people will not be able to sustain compliance over the long haul,\u201d and that there was a lack of strong, transparent evidence for this assumption. We now know that this assumption was mistaken, and that adherence to covid measures by the vast majority of the public has remained remarkably <\/span>high throughout the pandemic<\/span><\/a>. This is in spite of the government\u2019s regular casting of blame onto the public through the \u201cdon\u2019t blow it\u201d narrative, as seen at various points, through <\/span>November<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>December<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>January<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>March<\/span><\/a>, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

Research<\/span><\/a> I\u2019ve worked on, as well as that of <\/span>others<\/span><\/a>, suggests that one of the major factors determining adherence to covid-19 measures is trust in government. Paradoxically, rather than encouraging uptake,\u00a0attributing the rise and impact of <\/span>B.1.617.2 to<\/span> vaccine hesitancy among affected communities\u00a0might become a self-fulfilling prophecy if more people decide to delay or decline vaccination as a result of a growing distrust and dissatisfaction in the government’s handling of the pandemic. Indeed, <\/span>a body<\/span><\/a> of <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> shows that one of the major reasons behind vaccine hesitancy is a lack of trust in government.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

To complicate matters further, Prime Minister Boris Johnson\u2019s narrative of exercising \u201c<\/span>caution and common sense<\/span><\/a>,\u201d while simultaneously opening up (\u201ctaking the next step\u201d), is another example of the \u201c<\/span>mixed messages<\/span><\/a>\u201d that many have been confused by throughout the pandemic. This confusion, which myself and colleagues have referred to as \u201c<\/span>alert fatigue<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u201d partly stems from a disconnect between the government\u2019s deeds and words. In this case, it\u2019s playing out in the permitting of more activities (hugs and holidays), while their risks are being simultaneously emphasised (of course, the problem is that in a pandemic, individual and collective risk are interlinked). A lack of clear and upstream communication, <\/span>as we saw in the case of the recent \u201cstay local\u201d guidance<\/span><\/a>, does little to help the public\u2019s understanding of, and trust in, government measures.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve argued before that there is <\/span>no such thing as common sense in a pandemic<\/span><\/a>. For many it would be \u201ccommon sense\u201d to want to hug friends and family again at the first permitted opportunity to do so. Instead of common sense, we need to be led, or at least strongly guided, by <\/span>uncommon science<\/span><\/i>. The science is uncommon because it\u2019s based on emerging and rapid research on a novel and quickly mutating virus. Indeed, with so many covid-19 <\/span>known unknowns<\/span><\/a> remaining, is it realistic or fair to expect people to make fully \u201cinformed decisions\u201d about the \u201crisks\u201d of hugging and indoor mixing?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We know far more about covid-19 than we did a year ago, and the speed and effectiveness of the UK\u2019s vaccination programme is a considerable boon. However, the <\/span>new unknowns of <\/span>B.1.617.2<\/span><\/a>. suggest that decision making is still operating <\/span>under considerable uncertainty<\/span><\/a> and that, consequently, a <\/span>precautionary approach<\/span><\/a> is as necessary now as it has been throughout the pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pandemic policy should not need to rely too heavily on luck, yet after the policy failings of the <\/span>first and second waves<\/span><\/a>, the UK public, eager to return to normality, will be rightly concerned that it might not even be a case of \u201cthird time lucky.\u201d If, as appears to be happening, we experience any significant rises in covid-19 rates, it will not be due to the public\u2019s inability to take personal responsibility. Instead, it will once more be a consequence of the government\u2019s failure to learn from <\/span>its previous policy mistakes<\/span><\/a>,<\/span> as well as others\u2019 <\/span>policy successes<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Simon\u00a0Williams<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0is senior lecturer in people and organisation in the School of Management in Swansea University, and adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Medical Social Sciences in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, Chicago.<\/i>\u00a0Twitter\u00a0@drsimonwilliams\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Competing interests: <\/b>none declared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government’s current emphasis on personal responsibility and showing “common sense” once again displaces blame for their ineffective response to covid-19, says Simon Williams […]<\/p>\n

More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":50333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[223],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-bloggers"],"yoast_head":"\nThe UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The government’s current emphasis on personal responsibility and showing “common sense” once again displaces blame for their ineffective response to covid-19, says Simon Williams [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"kellybrendel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"kellybrendel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"kellybrendel\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d634d72476ce60014b19ed2db4ae3760\"},\"headline\":\"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1065,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Guest writers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/\",\"name\":\"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg\",\"width\":540,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"2FX1MXE Coronavirus signage in Bolton town centre, one of the areas of the UK where the Covid variant first identified in India is spreading fastest. Picture date: Tuesday May 25, 2021.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/26\\\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d634d72476ce60014b19ed2db4ae3760\",\"name\":\"kellybrendel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"kellybrendel\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/kellybrendel\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ","og_description":"The government’s current emphasis on personal responsibility and showing “common sense” once again displaces blame for their ineffective response to covid-19, says Simon Williams [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"kellybrendel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"kellybrendel","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/"},"author":{"name":"kellybrendel","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/d634d72476ce60014b19ed2db4ae3760"},"headline":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public","datePublished":"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/"},"wordCount":1065,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg","articleSection":["Guest writers"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/","name":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-26T16:17:34+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-01T15:46:40+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/05\/bolton_sign_india_variant_2FX1MXE.jpg","width":540,"height":350,"caption":"2FX1MXE Coronavirus signage in Bolton town centre, one of the areas of the UK where the Covid variant first identified in India is spreading fastest. Picture date: Tuesday May 25, 2021."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/05\/26\/the-uks-coronavirus-policy-still-places-too-much-responsibility-and-blame-in-the-hands-of-the-public\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The UK\u2019s coronavirus policy still places too much responsibility\u2014and blame\u2014on the public"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/d634d72476ce60014b19ed2db4ae3760","name":"kellybrendel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4e35f22486ccca5430679be45c0b31ada51650038ef38f08b0d342bd1af4c377?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"kellybrendel"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/kellybrendel\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}