INDEX
Sunday November 29, 2020
NHS is going to be cheaper
The big news today is, of course, nothing to do with the virus. Clearly we are living in the age of wonders and the fact that a vaccine has been produced for a virus first identified less than 12 months ago, is nothing short of a miracle. I look forward to vaccines that can eradicate Aids, the common cold and flu soon. But, of course, a vaccine is not the end of the story. It may even be the beginning Because, as they say about pandemics 'you wait a hundred years and then two come along in quick succession'. Even if there is no new disease out there waiting to grab humanity by the throat, Covid 19 may still have a trick or two up its sleeves and may be capable of mutating into a form that renders the vaccines useless. Ask the Danish minks, or the mink famers from that country anyway! No, the really big news is that the NHS is going to start buying (and using on a trial basis) a blood test that is supposed to be able to detect 50 plus different types of cancer. If this works, and it's a big if, it could revolutionise the treatment of cancer. This is good news for people who have the disease but are yet to find out; and it is good news for the NHS since it may dramatically reduce the cost of dealing with one of the most expensive diseases in the medical catalogue. Early intervention is more effective, better and cheaper when it comes to most kinds of cancer. Clearly those who have been telling us that the NHS is simply becoming too expensive to afford, are peddling nonsense. Oh and in addition to the NHS, social care is also very likely to become dramatically less expensive. If you reduce the incidence of debilitating illness, you also reduce the need to look after the victims of those illnesses. And as a by the by, it will also make people happier, healthier and fitter into their old age. We are living in an age of miracles.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55094301 See also my blog on the same subject in 2018.		Posted by Jonathan Brind.
INDEX
Sunday November 29, 2020