Beloved Covid guru Sir Jonathan Van-Tam joins vaccine giant Moderna as a part-time consultant

Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, one of the key faces of the government’s response to Covid, now works for US pharmaceutical giant Moderna.

England’s former deputy chief physician – who resigned his post in March 2022 as the era of the pandemic fizzled out – joined the Covid vaccine maker as a senior medical adviser in May, according to official documents.

The part-time role is part of his ‘portfolio-based career’, which includes his position as a strategic advisor in medicine at the University of Nottingham.

Moderna said today that JVT’s appointment, as he is affectionately known, was “in line with the Department for Health and Social Care in England’s corporate appointment rules policy.” His salary was not made public.

Responding to the announcement, critics said that “far too many personal-professional conflicts now scour the upper echelons of our public health system.”

In the early 2000s, he also held positions at other pharmaceutical companies, including stints at SmithKline Beecham, Roche, and Sanofi-Pasteur.

Sir Jonathan, knighted in last year’s New Year Honors list for services to public health, served on the vaccines task force during his time as deputy CMO. His job was advertised for up to £149,000.

Moderna said today that JVT’s appointment, as he is affectionately known, was “in line with the Department for Health and Social Care in England’s corporate appointment rules policy.” His salary was not made public

This body made decisions about “all vaccine supply contracts and major investments in manufacturing and clinical capabilities.”

Britain bought 77 million Moderna vaccines during the pandemic, in two batches – fewer than it bought from the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer jabs.

According to the Financial timesPublic records show that the government has restricted Professor Van-Tam from lobbying the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or its executive agencies or participating in tenders related to the Ministry of Health beyond March 2024.

He is also prohibited from using privileged information from his time in government to further business interests.

Sir Jonathan’s part-time advisory role is for the entire global business, not focused on the UK.

But his new role follows controversy over previous “revolving door” moves by ministers and government officials to the private sector, the FT said.

Nearly a third of all new jobs held by former ministers and senior officials had significant overlap with their previous assignment, according to research conducted earlier this year by civil society organization Transparency International.

Rose Whiffen, senior research officer at Transparency International UK, told the Financial Times: “At the moment there are only worn-out safeguards against abuse of the revolving door between the public and private sectors.”

She added that this created a “risk of privileged information being misused for commercial purposes.”

UsForThem, a campaign group that fought to keep schools open during the pandemic, criticized the move.

Three months after joining, Moderna feels ready to announce the role of Jonathan Van-Tam.

“The public has a right to understand how Moderna, JVT and the Department of Health could have judged this appointment in accordance with the restoration of public health confidence, or remotely ethical.

“Far too many personal-professional conflicts are now breaking through the upper echelons of our public health system.”

Last December, the government signed a 10-year agreement with Moderna to produce more than 250 million vaccines a year in the event of a pandemic.

It was then revealed that the investment would give NHS patients access to UK-made mRNA vaccines, while creating a new innovation and technology centre, employing 150 highly skilled workers.

Dubbed JVT by colleagues, Sir Jonathan became a regular figure on TV screens during the lockdown, imparting his expert knowledge at some of the daily coronavirus conferences.

The Boston United fan was famous for his memorable metaphors, such as comparing Covid to a “goalkeeper who can be beaten” and the vaccine rollout to the “glide path to land this plane.”

He sparked panic and concern in the UK in the early days of the Covid crisis when he admitted the country may have to ‘live’ with the virus for years before a vaccine was found.

He also made headlines in December 2020 when he warned that Britons may wear face masks for years to come – even after a successful coronavirus vaccine became available.

Sir Jonathan, knighted in last year’s New Year Honors list for services to public health, served on the vaccines task force during his time as deputy CMO. His job was advertised for up to £149,000. Pictured is Sir Jonathan being made a Knight by the current Prince of Wales in June 2022

He is prohibited from using privileged information from his time in government to further business interests. Sir Jonathan’s part-time advisory role is for the entire global business, not focused on the UK. Pictured, Sir Paul Nurse, Companion of Honor (left), Professor Dame Jennifer Harries, Dame Commander of the British Empire (second left), Professor Kevin Fenton CBE (centre), and Professor Sir Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam, Knight Bachelor (right), with their awards in June 2022

JVT also clashed with other scientists during the pandemic, including when they claimed the outbreak would be “a lot calmer” by Easter 2022, while others warned it could be years before it becomes a manageable seasonal virus.

In January 2022, it was announced that he would step down as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England at the end of March.

He returned to the University of Nottingham, where he was previously Professor of Health Protection before being seconded to the Department of Health in 2017, to join the executive team as Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Medicine and Health Sciences.

It comes as leading experts, including a member of No10’s vaccine advisory panel, argued yesterday that it would be a ‘good idea’ to make Covid jabs available privately.

Drug companies are not prohibited from bringing Covid jabs to the private market, according to the DHSC.

Darius Hughes, Moderna’s UK managing director, confirmed that the company remains “open to exploring the possibility and viability of providing Covid vaccines to healthcare providers for private sale’.

It’s not clear how much private Covid shots would cost. The government paid Pfizer about £20 per dose during the height of the pandemic.

But Moderna has already said it expects to quadruple its own price.