No vaccine before end of year, claims Birmingham health chief

Dr Justin Varney also gave some insight into how the government’s coronavirus tracking system will work, though he stated he does not expect it to be a "game changer" in fighting the virus.

Speaking at a health and social care overview and scrutiny meeting last week, Dr Varney said there are two potential developments that would provide substantial support in efforts to fight the virus.

These are effective treatment for those suffering from coronavirus, as opposed to simply providing oxygen, as well as developing a successful vaccine against the virus – though he conceded he does not expect to see a vaccine for some time yet.

“I think it is important to reflect that there are two things that are game changers,” he said.

“One is we get a vaccine, and I do not expect us to have a vaccine that will be rolled out nationally until the end of the calendar year at the absolute earliest. The second is that we get effective treatment for people in hospital with Covid.

“So at the moment most of the treatment is what we would call supportive, so we give people oxygen for example, but we don’t have a drug that we can give to people in hospital that reduces their chances of dying.

“If we discover that drug, that would be a game changer in terms of the way that society functions. So those are the two things we’re looking for.

“Testing is useful, but it is not a game-changer like either of those two. And there are two types of test, there is a PCR test, the giant swab or cotton-wool bud that goes right to the back of your nose and right to the back of your throat, and that’s looking for the presence of the virus now.

“And there’s the antibody test, which is looking at whether you’ve had it.

“The antibody test is not available yet through the NHS, but we have found tests that are reliable and that’s being ramped up. So we’re reliant on testing in terms of the swab.

“As of Monday, anyone who had symptoms can now go on to the NHS coronavirus website or ring 119 to request a swab.

“They can either get that through the drive-in site, which is in Edgbaston, or at the Midland Metropolitan car park, up on the border of Sandwell, or they can get postal tests. And they should receive the result of that test within two days of that sample getting to the lab.

“So that’s been a change in testing access as of Monday – care homes still have a prioritised route through that, and there is now a further addition to that where I, as the director of public health, can also raise higher up that list care homes that we have specific concerns around.”

All eyes are now on the government’s attempts to roll out a ‘track and trace’ app, which it is hoped will provide more in depth data on where exactly the virus is active.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on May 20 the app will be up and running by June 1, with Dr Varney providing further information on exactly how the app could operate.

“What will happen in the next phase of test and trace is that individuals who are symptomatic go through this portal, they access a test and, if that test is positive and if they’ve downloaded the app, they then tell that app that they’re positive, and it will tell everyone who’s been within two metres of them for more than a set period of time,” he said.

“This is not someone you’ve passed on the street – this is more likely to be someone you’ve sat next to on a train, for say half an hour – and it will tell everyone you’ve been in contact with to isolate for 14 days.

“There is also a call centre component, so the national call centre will ring you, have a conversation with you about where you’ve been, try to identify anyone who might not be picked up by the app, and then make contact with them.

“What we expect is that there will be a group of people that are then passed to local government to support.”