UK ‘unsafe’ from future pandemic threats, says Oxford Vaccine Group director

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. We are really unsafe at this moment for future pandemic threats, because we just don't have that knowledge base that you need to even start the gun as we did in 2020 Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Oxford Vaccine Group “We already knew a lot about coronaviruses and how to make vaccines for them – there had been decades of research on coronavirus vaccines,” Sir Andrew said. What we've seen is a whole list of incompetent decisions being made Dr Clive Dix, former UK Vaccine Taskforce chairman “And so for me, we are really unsafe at this moment for future pandemic threats, because we just don’t have that knowledge base that you need to even start the gun as we did in 2020 – and even then it took 11 months to have a vaccine.” Meanwhile the former chairman of the UK Vaccine Taskforce launched a scathing attack on the Government, telling MPs that ministers had “destroyed” almost all the work of the group of experts. UK experts in the field of pathogen genomics made a vital contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic response and pathogen genomics remains central to the national and international effort to keep the public safe from many other types of infectious disease threats Dame Jenny Harries, UKHSA Asked whether the right lessons have been learned by the UK Health Security Agency and the Government, he said: “The lessons were learned by a small group of us that were running the Vaccine Taskforce, and it never really got transported into the current thinking of the Government.” Dr Dix also criticised ministers for putting key recommendations from the Vaccine Taskforce “on the shelf”. UKHSA chief executive Dame Jenny Harries said: “UK experts in the field of pathogen genomics made a vital contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic response and pathogen genomics remains central to the national and international effort to keep the public safe from many other types of infectious disease threats, from tuberculosis to mpox and avian influenza.