Ex-head of government vaccine task force Kate Bingham warns UK unprepared for Covid 2.0 due to ‘stupid’ decisions in wake of pandemic

The former head of the government’s vaccine task force has accused ministers of making “stupid” decisions after the pandemic that could affect the country’s ability to cope with a future virus outbreak.

Dame Kate Bingham said huge efforts have been made to build vaccine production capacity while creating a groundbreaking database of people willing to undergo clinical trials.

The database covered a much larger cross-section of society than usually participates in testing – which is essential for developing new treatments – and was created as far more people than usual came into contact with health services during the pandemic.

But she said: ‘The government has closed the register (of potential test subjects) of the production capacity that we had. They will have to (recreate) the same thing when another pandemic hits – that’s just stupid.”

Dame Kate also said that while in 2020 the government could use the contacts of her and other advisers within the major pharmaceutical companies to allow the UK to lead global vaccine development, now “no one in government can do that”.

Speaking at the Buxton Literary Festival in Derbyshire, Dame Kate revealed ministers had made an ‘outrageous’ decision forcing up to 500,000 vulnerable people to ‘shield’ as the Omicron variant of Covid raged in late 2021 – to save money.

She revealed that Britain was the only leading country not to spend money on treatment, which would have allowed people with serious health problems to live their lives instead of staying at home.

Created by AstraZeneca alongside its vaccine, Evushield helps boost the immune system of people with medical vulnerabilities.

Speaking on Friday to promote her book The Long Shot, co-authored by academic Tim Hames, Dame Kate said the government had changed its mind and decided not to use any of the “highly effective” treatments – administered in two doses. order after her initial request. for a million doses was rejected.

Dame Kate – who chaired the vaccine task force between May and December 2020 – said only two million doses could be produced and ministers were told ‘you can’t have half the global supply, how much do you really want?’.

She added: ‘Then they (the government) said it is cheaper to have (vulnerable people) shielded at home than to give them antibodies. I thought it was downright scandalous.’

In further criticism, she said the government’s post-pandemic decision to focus on the MRNA-type coronavirus vaccines, such as those made by Pfizer and Moderna – when there are now seven variants available – meant that current stocks in the UK ” not being good enough’. .

She also shared how she saw then Health Secretary Matt Hancock as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ character in his demands and how he interacted with advisers like herself.

Dame Kate recalled one time – questioning an idea that 30 million vaccines could be ready by September 2020 – Hancock said, “Kate, so many experts have told me that things are not possible, and then they turn out to be possible to be, that I don’t believe you.’

A government spokesman said: ‘Our pandemic response plans are constantly being updated to reflect the latest scientific information, lessons learned from exercises and our response to emergencies, including Covid, and are constantly being reviewed to ensure preparedness.’

He added that the UK Health Security Agency is setting up a Vaccine Development and Evaluation Center to ‘accelerate the development of new vaccines’.

It aims to “provide leadership, coordination and management of vaccine research and discovery, development and evaluation activities, and strengthen partnerships with industry and academia.”

“We are also playing a leading role in the 100 Day Mission – a global collaboration that aims to make diagnostics, therapies and vaccines available within 100 days of the outbreak of a new pandemic threat.”