Well-known medics to appear in front of UK Covid probe
Module four of the inquiry is looking at the development and rollout of vaccines in the UK.
Two of the nation’s best-known medics from during the pandemic will appear in front of the Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday.
Module four of the probe is examining issues relating to the development and rollout of vaccines in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
From 10.30am on Monday, Alexandra Jones, director general of science, innovation and growth at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, will give evidence at Dorland House in London.
She will be followed by England’s chief medical officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty, former deputy chief medical officer Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, and Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Sir Chris and Sir Jonathan appeared regularly on television briefings alongside political leaders during the crisis.
Among the topics being explored by this portion of the inquiry is the development, procurement, manufacture and approval of the jabs, what steps were taken to enable the use of new therapeutics during the crisis, barriers to vaccine uptake, and issues around vaccine safety.
The UK was the first country in the world to deploy an approved jab for Covid-19.
The historic mass vaccination programme designed to tackle the virus started on December 8 2020, with jabs developed by Pfizer BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna rolled out.
Elsewhere this week, the inquiry will hear from Dame Kate Bingham, former chair of the vaccine taskforce, Dr Mary Ramsay, director of public health programmes at the UKHSA, Susannah Storey, permanent secretary at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Charlet Crichton, UKCV Family, on Tuesday.
They will be followed by vaccine safety experts Professor Dani Prieto-Alhambra and Professor Stephen Evans, and Dame June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, on Wednesday.
On Thursday, former health secretary Sir Sajid Javid will give evidence, along with Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, Ben Osborn, president of the international commercial office at Pfizer, and Dr Justin Green, global product lead at AstraZeneca.
Public hearings for module four of the Covid-19 Inquiry will run until January 31.
