Coronavirus Mini-Series #6 – Lockdown 2.0 How did we get here and what happens next? (Prof. Susan Michie)

RWBS welcomes back Professor Susan Michie in the run-up to another national lockdown.

Stu and Susan discuss what has led us to this point, including the flaws with the current test, trace and isolate processes and the low adherence to isolating. From a behavioural point of view, they discuss the reasons behind this low isolation adherence and why this differs between countries.

Exploring the coined term ‘behavioural fatigue’, Susan shares her thoughts on why fewer people are following the rules as strictly compared to the start of the first lockdown, from trust to time of year. They also look at the most affected groups - younger people due to the impact on their social networks, jobs and stability; as well as groups who already faced inequalities before the pandemic hit.

On a positive note, there may be scientific, social and personal learnings from the last lockdown that means both coping with, and the outcomes of, a lockdown now give us hope for a more connected festive period.

The episode references Independent SAGE – a group of scientists working to provide independent scientific advice to the UK government and public on how to minimise deaths and support Britain’s recovery from COVID-19.