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Tag: Matt Hancock

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Vaccination Rollout

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Vaccination Rollout

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 17 May 2021.

    We have more great news about the vaccination rollout and are making extraordinary strides as 20 million people now have the fullest possible protection from this virus – huge thanks to the team for hitting this milestone.

    The latest real-world data has once again demonstrated how effective the vaccine is at providing life-saving protection, with 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine providing 97% protection against mortality.

    Receiving a second dose is vital to ensure you have the ultimate protection from this deadly virus – I encourage everyone to book their jab as soon as they are offered it.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine

    A statement issued by the Department of Health and Social Care on 7 May 2021.

    The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, effective and has already saved thousands of lives in the UK and around the world.

    As the MHRA – the UK’s independent regulator – and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have said, the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks for the vast majority of adults.

    The government will follow today’s updated advice, which sets out that, as a precaution, it is preferable for people under the age of 40 with no underlying health conditions to be offered an alternative vaccine where possible once they are eligible, and only if doing so does not cause a substantial delay in accessing a vaccination.

    More than 50 million vaccines overall have already been administered, and our current vaccine supply and rate of infection means we are able to take this precautionary step while remaining on track to achieve our target of offering a vaccine to all adults by the end of July.

    Everybody who has already had a first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should receive a second dose of the same jab, irrespective of age, except for the very small number of people who experienced blood clots with low platelet counts following their first vaccination.

    When people are called forward, they should get their jab. Vaccines are the best way out of this pandemic and provide strong protection against COVID-19.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on 50 Million Covid-19 Doses

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on 50 Million Covid-19 Doses

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 3 May 2021.

    Now we’ve delivered the 50 millionth jab, and 29.4% of the adult population have had the strongest possible protection of 2 doses, we have hit yet another incredible milestone in our vaccination programme.

    The vaccine is our way out of this pandemic and the rollout had been a huge national effort. I want to pay tribute to the heroic NHS staff and volunteers who have worked tirelessly to deliver vaccines in every corner of the United Kingdom at a phenomenal pace.

    We are on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July but our work is not over yet. We are now inviting everyone over 40 to get their jab. I had mine last week – it’s simple and easy and I encourage everyone else who is eligible to get the jab.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 28 April 2021.

    Our vaccination programme is bringing back our freedom, but the biggest risk to that progress is the risk posed by a new variant.

    We’re working on our plans for booster shots, which are the best way to keep us safe and free while we get this disease under control across the whole world.

    These further 60 million doses will be used, alongside others, as part of our booster programme from later this year, so we can protect the progress that we’ve all made.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Covid-19

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Covid-19

    The statement made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 28 April 2021.

    Good afternoon and welcome to Downing Street for today’s coronavirus briefing.

    I’m joined by Professor Jonathan Van Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and Dr Nikki Kanani, the Medical Director for Primary Care at NHS England.

    Today we’ve got an update on our fight against coronavirus, both here at home and around the world.

    Support for India

    I’ll start by talking about events around the world.

    We’ve all seen the harrowing pictures of what’s happening in India.

    I think it pains each one of us who’s seeing those scenes.

    Not least because the bonds between our countries are so strong. And there are ties of family and friendship.

    I’ve been in constant contact with my Indian counterpart.

    And we worked over the weekend to put together our first package of support of ventilators and oxygen concentrators.

    More supplies will be arriving later this week.

    I’ve also been working with the Health Minister for Northern Ireland, Robin Swann, to donate large scale oxygen production equipment from Northern Ireland which is capable of producing over 1,000 litres of oxygen per minute – which is one of the main needs of the people of India.

    I’d like to thank Robin for the incredible hard work he’s done in getting this to the position it is so we can get it sent to India where it can produce that oxygen that is so badly needed.

    Everyone across this whole United Kingdom stands side-by-side with the people of India in these troubled times because in this battle against coronavirus, we’re all on the same side.

    This fight is a global fight.

    And when other nations face their hour of need, as we have faced our hour of need here at home: we’ll be there.

    The situation in India is a stark reminder that this isn’t over yet.

    It shows how important it is that we’re vigilant here at home.

    Professor Van Tam will take us through the data in a moment.

    Transmission data

    Just before we do, I want to give an update on the vaccination programme.

    This morning we published new data, giving the first concrete evidence of how much vaccines reduce transmission within households.

    We’ve seen already that a vaccine reduces your chance of catching COVID by around two thirds.

    This new data looked at people who tested positive after having received one dose of the vaccine and found that they were up to 50 per cent less likely to pass on the disease to someone else in their household.

    And we’re looking at whether the second dose gives an even bigger effect.

    We know that indoor settings have the highest risk of transmission.

    So these results are very encouraging in terms of the impact of the vaccine on reducing transmission.

    We’re finding out more and more about the layers of protection you get from a vaccine, and how its impacting in the real world.

    In summary, we think you get around two thirds protection against catching the disease at all, around four fifths reduction in your likelihood of ending up in hospital and around 85 per cent protection from dying of COVID.

    That’s the protection you get from one dose.

    And in addition to all that, you’re up to half as likely to pass it on to somebody else that you live with.

    We expect the benefits to be even greater after two doses and we are monitoring that carefully.

    What this means is the evidence is stacking up that the vaccine protects you, protects your loved ones, and is the way out of this pandemic.

    Vaccination programme

    The overall effectiveness of the vaccination programme comes from just two things.

    One, how effective the vaccine is – that’s the science if you like.

    And two, how many people get the jabs. That of course is on all of us.

    I just want to turn to the second of those for a moment as well.

    First animation, please.

    This shows the proportion of people who’ve had a jab, according to age group.

    Green bars represent people who’ve had one dose, and the blue represent people who’ve had two.

    And you can see they are growing over time as the vaccination programme reaches more and more people who are younger and younger.

    As you can see, across the United Kingdom, uptake of the first dose among the over 50s is phenomenally high, at over 95 per cent.

    And is rising sharply in people in their late forties who have been now able to receive the vaccine for a couple of weeks.

    This is great progress, and it’s something we can all celebrate, because we all have a part to play in this.

    I’m delighted we’ve been able to offer the vaccine to even more people.

    So anyone who’s 42 or older can now come forward and get the jab.

    I’m delighted about this, not just because it shows the progress we’re making, I’m also delighted because it means I can get my jab too.

    Just like every other 42 and 43 year old, I got a text from the NHS yesterday.

    I went online and booked it for myself. It takes less than a minute.

    And I’m looking forward to getting my jab first thing tomorrow morning.

    In the words of our new campaign “every vaccination brings us hope”.

    Antibody data

    So, we’ve looked at the effectiveness of the vaccine and we’ve looked at the take up of the vaccine.

    And now I want to turn to a combination of the two.

    What I’m about to show you is not how many people have had the jab, but how many people have got the antibodies that make the jab effective. These antibodies that protect you from coronavirus.

    This isn’t a measure of the vaccination programme directly. This is a measure of the protection that we have, collectively, built up in people right across the country.

    Can we have the second chart, please.

    This data, released today by the ONS, is from a national survey where they visit over 20,000 people, and actually measure the antibodies in people’s bloodstream.

    The blue area shows the proportion of people who have COVID-19 antibodies.

    As you can see, in the older age groups who got vaccinated first they are much more likely to have COVID-19 antibodies.

    So more and more people are getting protection.

    And now 7 in 10 adults have protective COVID antibodies. This is the vaccination programme in action.

    It makes me so proud of what we’ve done.

    We have been working on the vaccination programme for more than a year now.

    And there’s a massive team to it, and I’m grateful to them all.

    But the thing that makes me proudest is how, when the call came, the whole nation who has been asked has effectively stepped forward.

    This vaccination programme depends, yes ,on the effectiveness of the science and that is crucial. But it depends on everybody stepping forward.

    Booster programme and Pfizer doses

    The vaccine is helping us to bring back our freedom and we must protect this progress.

    The biggest risk to that progress is the risk posed by a new variant.

    So we’re working on our plans for booster shots too.

    To keep us safe and free here while we get this disease under control across the whole world.

    We’ve been working on a programme of booster shots again for over a year now.

    And we’ve backed some of the only clinical trials in the world looking specifically at booster shots.

    I’m delighted to be able to tell you that we’ve secured a further 60 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

    And that will be used, alongside others, as part of our booster shot programme from later this year.

    And that is all about protecting the progress that we’ve made.

    Conclusion

    We have a clear route out of this crisis.

    But, this is no time for complacency, it’s a time for caution.

    So that we can keep the virus under control, while we take the steps, safely, back to normal life.

    So please remember the basics of hands, face, space, and fresh air.

    And crucially, if like me you get the call, join me and get the jab.

    Now I’d like to hand over to Professor Van Tam to talk through the latest data and then to Dr Kanani to talk through some of the detailed data about that extraordinarily high take up of the vaccine.

    Thank you.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Speech at the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership Conference

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Speech at the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership Conference

    The speech made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 20 April 2021.

    Thank you Sir Patrick – and good morning everyone.

    I think this is an incredibly important meeting and an incredibly important process and I’m very grateful to everyone for their time.

    It was Melinda Gates – who will close this conference tomorrow – who once said:

    Goals are only wishes, unless you have a plan.

    And so at the UN last September, the Prime Minister set out a plan: the Five Point Plan to Prevent Future Pandemics.

    At its heart is the drive to get better and quicker at developing and deploying what we might need in a future crisis, and especially the life-saving vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. But not limited to those things.

    And as hard as it might be to focus on a future crisis while we’re still facing down COVID-19, the WHO estimates we face a pandemic threat every 5 years.

    So we must be better prepared. And we must start that process now.

    And if you think about it, the structures we’ve put in place, from the ACT-Accelerator to COVAX, we’re in a stronger place than we were and we’ve been stronger when we’ve worked in partnership.

    And there’s a couple of important points that I think are critical to what this partnership means.

    Firstly, I think it’s very important we recognise that whether it’s public or private, or from academia or industry, we must draw on expertise and resources wherever we find them, and we’re more than the sum of our parts.

    And that is at the core of what this Pandemic Preparedness Partnership is all about. And looking at the part that all of us can play in improving and streamlining vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, so we’re better prepared for future pandemics.

    Let me turn for a moment to the role of the G7. And I can see Sir Patrick sitting in front of the G7 logo there.

    The UK as President of the G7 will be ensuring that we use that institution to drive forward the project that we call building back better, and we’re determined to make it count.

    I’m so grateful to our G7 colleagues joining us today.

    I’m sure you agree: at a time like this, the G7 can’t be anything but ambitious.

    And our G7 health track reflects that ambition. We want health security for all, working on international leadership on clinical trials, action on antimicrobial resistance, and to embrace the vast opportunities in digital health we’ve seen come to the fore over the last year.

    And the PPP can be instrumental in this agenda – especially in those first 2 strands: global health security and clinical trials.

    And there really is no better place to start than the G7.

    The reason we use the G7 is that that group represents two thirds of the global pharmaceutical market, the majority of the world’s genomic capability, a huge proportion of global research and development, and it leads the world in life sciences and clinical trials.

    So at our G7 meetings this summer, both at the health track and then the leaders, I want us to declare to the world how we can take this forward, how we can make vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics available and accessible in the vast quantities that we’re going to need to make the world safer.

    And responding to the call that has already been made to slash the time that’s need to develop and deploy vaccines by two thirds to just 100 days – and being equally ambitious about ensuring high-quality and effective therapeutics and diagnostics are available quickly after a new disease threat is identified.

    That’s the goal. But it remains just a wish, unless we plan.

    So I’m incredibly grateful to Sir Patrick and our 6 expert leads, for the work they’re going to do shaping advice and developing policy recommendations across the 3 workstreams. And if I just briefly touch on the 3.

    First, to Sir Andrew Witty and Sir John Bell, who will look at how we can accelerate research and development for new vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and the technologies that are going to help us manufacture and deploy them across the globe.

    And in that mission, we need look no further than organisations like CEPI to see what is possible when we embrace new and dynamic types of partnership.

    CEPI’s mission – to find new vaccines for a safer world – is one the UK is firmly behind.

    Because vaccines of course are one of the most powerful tools we have.

    The UK will continue to support CEPI, and today I’m pleased to confirm a further £16 million investment.

    The funds are there to support CEPI’s work to boost manufacturing capacity around the world, all with the goal of making sure no one is left behind and taking us ever closer to the model of responsiveness that we need to prevent future pandemics.

    And that sort of model is one where we get the rapid adaption of vaccines to new diseases or new variants – within that 100-day goal – and deployment where they’re needed.

    Beyond vaccines, it is also imperative that we significantly enhance our speed of response to pick up new technologies, and in particular I want to mention the supply of novel antiviral treatments which later today the Prime Minister will be setting out the details of how we will be driving forward the deployment and development of antivirals here in the UK.

    A second team I want to give a shout out to and touch on is the work that Dame Anne Johnson and Professor Martin Landray are going to be doing on how we can improve clinical trials and data sharing.

    For me the pandemic has shown beyond measure the value of robust clinical trials. And, critically, the value of sticking with the clinical trial even when there is this incredible imperative to get treatments out fast.

    Finding what works, and, crucially, ruling out what doesn’t work. I’m sure all of us in our heads can think of treatments that have been trumpeted, sometimes from the highest office, as solutions, but clinical trials are the answer as we know to finding out what works.

    But we’ve got to get quicker. And if trials aren’t working to shared standards across borders, we risk losing precious time – and precious ingenuity.

    I’ve been struck by the fact that if clinical trials aren’t designed right with set standards at the start, then the data within them is not interoperable or not easily interoperable and therefore it takes longer to get a robust signal. This is something we can and must fix.

    Faced with another pandemic, those aren’t risks any of us should be prepared to take.

    We’ve got to hold onto these precious commodities – ingenuity and time – and use data and insights as fast as possible flowing freely across borders so the whole world can benefit.

    Here in the UK, the MHRA worked really hard to overcome some of the obstacles within the structure of clinical trials taking place in different jurisdictions.

    And that was one of the reasons we were able to license vaccines here in the UK faster than anywhere else in the UK, because of the flexibility yet robustness shown by the MHRA.

    And making sure that in future we have clinical trials that can get the power of all of the data used everywhere in the world is incredibly important. It requires set standards that we agree on in principle before those trials are structured.

    I know it’s possible. But it will take focus and it will take leadership – and that’s what the G7 can provide.

    And then the third point I want to briefly touch on is, of course, the money.

    I’m incredibly grateful to Baroness Minouche Shafik and Lord Jim O’Neill, who are working, along with the finance ministers’ track, on sustainable finance.

    Now let’s face it, the pandemic has been painfully expensive, not just in how much we’ve had to spend, but the hit to our economies too.

    Confronted with the same level of preparedness, we would risk being in the same boat.

    But in future, when we’re better prepared, we’ll be able to do it differently and do it better – with more targeted, more inventive and more sustainable financing initiatives.

    And here, crucially, it is absolutely vital that in peacetime, when there is not a pandemic on the horizon, we can bring in the financing that can ensure we stay prepared.

    So today is a fantastic chance to draw on the unmatched experience of this incredible group of people and put forward some big, bold ideas.

    Ideas that drive the plan that we’re working towards putting before G7 leaders in June and, ultimately, the plan that we’ll then put before the whole world.

    We’ve got to bring everyone with us as much as is possible on this vital mission and with the plan that we will develop through this team, with our plan – with your plan – I know that we can make it.

    So thank you very much for what you’re going to do and for the work that you’re doing in putting these plans in place and then to turn these plans into actions.

    It’s incredibly important and the work starts now.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on the Antivirals Taskforce

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on the Antivirals Taskforce

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 20 April 2021.

    The UK is leading the world in finding and rolling out effective treatments for COVID-19, having identified dexamethasone, which has saved over a million lives worldwide, and tocilizumab.

    In combination with our fantastic vaccination programme, medicines are a vital weapon to protect our loved ones from this terrible virus.

    Modelled on the success of the vaccines and therapeutics taskforces, which have played a crucial part in our response to the pandemic, we are now bringing together a new team that will supercharge the search for antiviral treatments and roll them out as soon as the autumn.

    I am committed to boosting the UK’s position as a life science superpower and this new taskforce will help us beat COVID-19 and build back better.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Covid-19 Vaccination

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Statement on Covid-19 Vaccination

    The statement made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 14 April 2021.

    I wish to inform the House of actions we are taking to improve uptake of vaccines across the adult social care sector.

    In February 2021, we published the UK covid-19 vaccines delivery plan setting out the significant programme of work under way to drive vaccine uptake, including actions to improve access and to address the concerns of those who may be hesitant to receive the vaccine.

    We have been working to make the vaccination accessible to people living and working in care homes. Vaccination teams have visited all older-age care homes in England and are running a minimum four-visit schedule for each. For those workers who may not have been present when the vaccination team visited the home, access via other vaccination services has been available. We also opened the national booking service for seven weeks so that frontline social care workers could book their own appointments, and care home workers can now arrange vaccination directly through their GP.

    We have worked hard to address concerns among the adult social care workforce by delivering an extensive communications programme, running targeted advertisements and issuing a stakeholder toolkit containing regularly updated Q and As, guidance and communications materials. Positive messaging using influencers, leaders and care home workers who have already been vaccinated has boosted confidence and tackled misinformation, as have briefings with different faith groups who have become ambassadors for getting a vaccine.

    We continue to do everything we can to increase vaccine uptake. We have targeted support at older adult care homes where vaccine uptake is low, such as in London. As of 4 April 2021, vaccine uptake among eligible workers in older adult care homes in London is 68%, compared to 82% in the south west. Local efforts, by employers, local authorities, public health teams and others, supplement this Government’s support.

    Despite efforts, vaccine uptake among care home workers is not consistently at the level that we know from SAGE advice is needed to minimise the risk of outbreak: a minimum vaccination rate of 80% of staff and of 90% of residents in each home—that level must be maintained. Only 53% of older adult homes in England are currently meeting this recommendation.

    It is imperative that together we now take every step necessary to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to those most at risk from covid-19 and those who care for them. We must protect people living in care homes, and we must protect the workforce who perform such a vital role.

    Vaccination is a safe, effective way of preventing the spread of covid-19. It is therefore right that the Government act now to ensure that those working and assisting in older adult care homes are vaccinated to protect everyone in these settings.

    From today, we are consulting on taking steps to require care providers to deploy only staff who have been vaccinated within older adult care homes. This measure would be intended to protect the people most at risk in our society—around 90% of those who died from covid-19 were people over 70.

    Making vaccination a condition of deployment in older adult care homes in this way would help to further protect older people living in care homes, who are among the most vulnerable to covid-19, and ultimately save lives. A five-week consultation launches today to help inform decision making around how the change could be implemented and whether respondents think it will be beneficial. This will include areas such as potential impact on staff, safety and who could be exempt. Staff, providers, stakeholders, residents and their families are being urged to take part to have their views heard with an outcome expected by this summer.

    I will provide an update to the House, following the completion of the consultation.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Rapid Testing at Home

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Rapid Testing at Home

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 5 April 2021.

    Around 1 in 3 people who have COVID-19 show no symptoms, and as we reopen society and resume parts of life we have all dearly missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks.

    The vaccine programme has been a shot in the arm for the whole country, but reclaiming our lost freedoms and getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly.

    The British public have shown over the last year that they quickly adapt and always do what it is right in the interest of public health, and I know they will do their bit by getting tested regularly in the months ahead.

  • Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Pilot Events with Large Audiences

    Matt Hancock – 2021 Comments on Pilot Events with Large Audiences

    The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 5 April 2021.

    We are all longing to see stadiums full of sporting fans and gigs packed with music lovers, but as we continue the roll out of our vaccination programme, we must find a way to do so safely.

    By piloting a range of measures to reduce transmission, we can gather vital scientific evidence to inform our plans for allowing events in the future.

    Thanks to the input of our clinicians and the best science available, we can prepare for the moment where we will be able to gather again in some of our best-loved cultural venues.