The Vaccine Taskforce in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

was set up in April 2020 by the

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, in collaboration with

Chief Scientific Advisor The UK Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) is the personal adviser on science and technology-related activities and policies to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. They are also the head of the Government Office for Science. Many indiv ...

Patrick Vallance Patrick John Thompson Vallance, Baron Vallance of Balham (born 17 March 1960), is a British physician, scientist, life peer, and clinical pharmacologist who has served as Minister of State for Science in the Department for Science, Innovatio ...

and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, in order to facilitate the path towards the introduction of a

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

in the UK and its global distribution. The taskforce coordinated the research efforts of government with industry, academics and funding agencies in order to expedite vaccine development and deployment. The minister responsible for the body was the

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Departmen ...

, although the body was a joint unit of the

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and the

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom Government, from July 2016 to Februar ...

. Oversight was by the

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention is a position in the Department of Health and Social Care in the Government of the United Kingdom. The role has previously been known as the Minister of State for Public ...

, and in November 2020 the first person to take this role was

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MP. The Vaccine Taskforce closed in autumn 2022. Its role in vaccine supply was merged into the

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, and its work in bringing vaccine manufacture in-country transferred to the

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History

The body was set up in April 2020 by the Government's Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance. On 16 May 2020, venture capitalist Kate Bingham was named to chair the body. On 1 July, Bingham told the

Science and Technology Select Committee The Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The original Science and Technology Committee was abolished upon the creation of the Innovation, Univ ...

that

Sarah Gilbert Dame Sarah Catherine Gilbert FRS (born April 1962) is an English vaccinologist who is a Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Vaccitech. She specialises in the development of vaccines against influenza and em ...

and "

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

(are) leading the world in developing a vaccine against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and offers the best chance of having something protective against the virus as we go into winter." On 12 September, it came to light that Sir John Bell was a member of the body. On 14 October, the chair managed public expectation by stating that a vaccine for COVID-19 was expected to be no more

efficacious Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as ''effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made between ...

than the

flu vaccine Influenza vaccines, colloquially known as flu shots or the flu jab, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While thei ...

, which immunises against the influenza virus with around 50 per cent success. Bingham added: "We shouldn't assume it's going to be better than a flu vaccine, because that's an equivalent – it's a mutating … respiratory virus that gets in through the nose and eyes and respiratory tract". Speaking to

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

's ''The Seven'' on 17 October, Bingham said that the government would have to arrive at an agreement with the

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert advisory committee that advises United Kingdom health departments on immunisation, making recommendations concerning vaccination schedules and vaccine safety. ...

(JCVI) as to how any COVID-19 vaccine should be distributed; the staff of care homes and the elderly are likely to be prioritised. She stated that initially there would be a limited supply any COVID-19 vaccine. On 18 October 2020, SAGE committee member, Sir

Jeremy Farrar Sir Jeremy James Farrar (born 1 September 1961) is a British medical researcher who has served as Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization since 2023. He was previously the director of The Wellcome Trust from 2013 to 2023 and a professor ...

, commented on ''Sophy Ridge On Sunday'' that the Vaccine Taskforce "has done an absolutely extraordinary job" and the country is in an "extraordinarily strong position" with regard to the line-up of possible vaccines. A government press release of 20 October shed further light on the initial formation of the taskforce, stating that it was created under the auspices of the

(BEIS) in May 2020.

was appointed to the new role of

on 28 November 2020, with responsibility for the taskforce. On 1 March 2021, ministerial responsibility transferred from BEIS to the

, and the taskforce became a joint unit of BEIS and the

Personnel

On 14 June 2021, the microbiologist Sir Richard Sykes was appointed chair of the Vaccine Taskforce. , the director-general of the taskforce is Madelaine McTernan.

Steering group

In June 2021, the

confirmed in response to a

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request that the taskforce's formal steering group had been disbanded, with the taskforce now being managed by a senior leadership team of civil servants and experts, with Sir Richard Sykes as its external chair.

Former membership

Until November 2020, the membership of the taskforce was unknown. A

request to obtain the membership was responded to with three pages of redacted names. As of that month, the steering group was made up of: * Kate Bingham, chair * Clive Dix, deputy chair * Nick Elliott MBE, Director-General,

(BEIS) * Ruth Todd, Director, BEIS * Madelaine McTernan, Director,

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* Tim Colley, Director, BEIS * Dan Osgood, Director, BEIS * Divya Chadha Manek,

National Institute for Health Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government's major funder of clinical, public health, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 billion in 2020–21, its mission is to "improv ...

* Ian McCubbin, Manufacturing Advisor – former Senior Vice President for Global Manufacturing and Supply at

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

* Steve Bates, Chief Executive Officer, BioIndustry Association * Professor

Jonathan Van-Tam Sir Jonathan Stafford Nguyen Van-Tam (born 2 February 1964) is a British physician specialising in influenza, including its epidemiology, transmission, vaccinology, antiviral drugs and pandemic preparedness. After hospital work, Van-Tam was inv ...

, Clinical and Public Health Adviser to the VTF, Deputy Chief Medical Officer,

* Representatives of other government departments and public sector organisations attended VTF Steering Group meetings as required

Developments

On 20 October 2020, the ''

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'' reported that potential COVID-19 vaccines would be selected for testing by the taskforce towards the end of the first quarter of 2021, but this was dependent on the outcome of "characterisation studies". The article also mentioned funding of £33.6 million being provided by government to accelerate the development of new COVID-19 vaccines by exposing human trial participants to the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

in controlled conditions around 30 days after having received a shortlisted vaccine. The work of the taskforce was bolstered by a further tranche of £19.7 million in funding for clinical trial-related blood testing facilities at

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

, specifically at PHE Porton Down. On 22 October, Oxford Immunotec announced that the company had been chosen by the taskforce to be the unique supplier of

T cell T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell ...

testing for

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 ...

. The move was underscored with a £3 million investment, as the Business Secretary,

Alok Sharma Alok Kumar Sharma, Baron Sharma, (born 7 September 1967), is a British Conservative Party politician. He served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022, having previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Str ...

, emphasised the importance of T cell diagnostic capabilities in assessing the performance of candidate vaccines within COVID-19 vaccine trials. On 27 October 2020, an article by Bingham was published in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...

''. It highlighted the taskforce's overall strategy of a diverse portfolio of vaccines, with an emphasis on those thought capable of achieving an immune response in the over-65s. From an initial pool of 240 potential vaccines, the taskforce selected six candidates which employ four varied methods: adenoviral vectors,

mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of Protein biosynthesis, synthesizing a protein. mRNA is ...

, adjuvanted proteins, and whole inactivated viral vaccines. The article also revealed that Clive Dix was the taskforce's deputy chair. It was reported the following day that Bingham had warned in the ''Lancet'' article that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines would probably not be perfect, and would only lessen symptoms rather than prevent infection and that they "might not work for everyone or for long".

Related bodies

The Department of Health and Social Care set up an Antivirals Taskforce in April 2021, to identify and deploy post-infection

antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Antiviral drugs are a class of antimicrobials ...

medicines which could be taken by people at home. By September 2022, the name of the body had changed to the COVID-19 Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce.

References

{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories, state=collapsed Public bodies and task forces of the United Kingdom government Vaccination-related organizations Government agencies established in 2020 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom COVID-19 vaccines