The NHS Covid-19 contact tracing app will shut down next month after a sharp drop in usage after the peak of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, millions of users of the app, one of the last remnants of the Covid architecture, were told it would close on April 27.
The app has been blamed for the summer 2021 “ping epidemic” but is estimated to have saved more than 9,000 lives and prevented 44,000 hospitalizations and a million cases.
Ministers and public health officials have ruled that Covid can be treated like any other viral infection, and that widespread vaccination, infection-related immunity and treatment means that far fewer people become seriously ill with the virus.
At its peak, the app was downloaded 16 million times in October 2020, bringing the total number of downloads during the pandemic to 31 million.
The app alerted people if they were in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid.
In the summer of 2021, when most of the Covid-related restrictions were lifted and people began to reconnect at work and in their pre-pandemic social lives, the app caused what was called a “pingdemic”, as many people were told – to isolate – which leads to staff shortages in key sectors such as transport and supermarkets.
Professor Stephen Riley, Director General of Data, Analytics and Surveillance at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “The NHS Covid-19 app has been a vital tool during the pandemic and is estimated to have caused around a million cases and 44,000 hospitalizations. and prevented 9600 deaths. only in the first year.
“We would like to thank all of our users and teams that developed and managed the app. The knowledge, technology and insights gained will be used to support our planning and response to a wide range of future pandemic threats.”
The UK government entered a new phase of ‘life with Covid’ in February 2022 and lifted all restrictions.
But critics warn that removing Covid-related infrastructure puts the country at risk if a dangerous new option emerges that makes vaccines and previous immunity less effective.
Scientists from the University of Oxford and Warwick have calculated that in the first year alone, the app prevented about a million cases, 44,000 hospitalizations and 9,600 people.
The UKHSA said the app has proven the value of rapid digital contact tracing as an intervention against “fast moving respiratory pathogens”, meaning the technology is likely to be deployed in the event of a new pandemic.
The app was launched as a trial on the Isle of Wight in August 2020. When it launched nationwide in September 2020, it was downloaded over 13 million times in its first week.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.