The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) is an advisory body that advises the United Kingdom Government's Chief Medical Advisor /

Chief Medical Officer for England In the United Kingdom, a chief medical officer (CMO) is the most senior government advisor on matter relating to health. There are four chief medical officers in the United Kingdom who are appointed to advise their respective governments: * His M ...

, who in turn advises the UK

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the s ...

and relevant ministers regarding threats from

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

respiratory tract infection Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are infectious diseases involving the lower or upper respiratory tract. An infection of this type usually is further classified as an upper respiratory tract infection (URI or URTI) or a lower respiratory tract ...

s. The body replaced the UK

Scientific Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

(SPI) as part of a move to expand the scope to cover the threat of other respiratory viruses, besides pandemic influenza. The inaugural meeting was held on 19 December 2014 where the terms of reference were agreed. The group has been advising the Department of Health for some years and minutes of meetings are now regularly published, backdated to 2014. , the group has been advising specifically on the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Developments

On 18 December 2020, a telecon meeting took place where the

SARS-Cov-2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had the Novel coronavirus, provisional nam ...

variant,

Variant of Concern 202012/01 The Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was a SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern. It was estimated to be 40–80% more transmissible than the wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (with most estimates occupying the middle to higher end of this range). Scientists more wide ...

, was discussed. A summary recorded in the advisory group's minutes stated that they had "moderate confidence" that there was "a substantial increase in transmissibility" with Variant of Concern 202012/01 over other variants. A summary presented to the United Kingdom Government's

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

on 21 January 2021 recorded "a realistic possibility that infection with VOCB.1.1.7 is associated with an increased risk of death compared to infection with non-VOC viruses".

Members

, its members were: * Professor Peter Horby (chair), epidemiologist,

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

* Professor

Wendy Barclay Wendy Sue Fox (née Barclay) is a British virologist. She is currently head of Department of Infectious Disease and chair in Influenza Virology at Imperial College London. She leads a team of scientists studying the influenza virus and its phys ...

, virologist,

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

* Professor Robert Dingwall, sociologist, Dingwall Enterprises Ltd. and

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

* Professor John Edmunds, epidemiologist,

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

* Dr Cariad Evans,

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust The Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a combined acute and community NHS foundation trust in Sheffield, England. Founded in 2001 and awarded foundation status in 2004, the trust covers most of Sheffield's adult community servi ...

* Professor Neil Ferguson, epidemiologist, Medical Research Council, Imperial College London * Professor Andrew Hayward, epidemiologist,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

* Dr Benjamin Killingley, medical consultant,

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises University College Hospital, University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street, the UCH Macmillan Cancer C ...

* Professor Wei Shen Lim, medical consultant,

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is one of England's largest acute teaching trusts. It was established on 1 April 2006 following the merger of Nottingham City Hospital and the Queen's Medical Centre NHS Trusts. They provide acut ...

* Dr Jim McMenamin, immunologist, Health Protection Scotland * Professor Peter Openshaw, immunologist, Imperial College London * Dr

James Rubin James Phillip Rubin (born March 28, 1960) is an American former diplomat and journalist who served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, assistant secretary of state for public affairs in the Clinton Administration, Clinton ad ...

, psychologist,

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

* Professor

Calum Semple Malcolm Gracie "Calum" Semple is a British physician and academic. He is Professor of Child Health and Outbreak Medicine at the University of Liverpool and a consultant respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital Liverpool. Semple ...

, consultant paediatrician,

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

* Dr Chloe Sellwood (Co-opted Member), Pandemic Flu Lead at

NHS England NHS England, formally the NHS Commissioning Board for England, is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the budget, planning, delivery and day-to-day operation of the commissioning si ...

* Professor

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he be ...

(Co-opted Member), virologist,

Animal and Plant Health Agency The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), formerly known as the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) of the United Kingdom. It was f ...

(APHA)

References

External links

* Emergency management in the United Kingdom Diseases and disorders in the United Kingdom COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom National responses to the COVID-19 pandemic Organizations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic {{COVID-19-stub

Developments

Members

See also

References

External links