Nation in declining health as UK marks pandemic anniversary

One in five (21 per cent) UK adults are still processing what happened to them during the pandemic. That's according to a YouGov survey of 2,415 adults commissioned by NHS Charities Together to mark the five-year anniversary of the pandemic.

It comes as new data shows people across Britain are in poor or worsening states of health and wellbeing as the UK marks five years since the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic in March 2020. 

Trends show that high levels of anxiety continue to be reported today with two main spikes at both main lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

A third of people approached between February and March 2025 say they have high levels of anxiety – scored as higher than six out of ten – according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS)’s Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

The survey – carried out regularly over the past five years among a sample of individuals aged 16 and over in England, Scotland and Wales – aimed to trace people’s experiences of wellbeing in the period since the first lockdown.

It builds a picture of a nation in declining health.

While more than three-quarters (77 per cent) of those surveyed reported good or very good health at the beginning of the first lockdown, this figure has remained below 70 per cent since early 2023 and stood at 65 per cent at the start of this year.

Commenting on the findings, Royal Society for Public Health chief executive William Roberts, told the Independent that a shift in approach to prevention rather than just treatment is required.

“We know that health has been declining in recent years, with healthy life expectancy falling and health inequalities widening,” he said.

The UK-wide Day of Reflection was held on Sunday 9 March 2025, a day set up by the UK Commission on Covid Commemoration. People were invited to remember and commemorate those who lost their lives since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, a survey of 2,000 workers found that almost a third (28 per cent) had experienced burnout in the past month, with a further quarter (27 per cent) hitting it within the past six months. The results were published this week by music licensing company PPL PRS which argued work-related burnout is at “crisis point”.