Covid-19 Update

Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is right to be concerned. Some of the data we have on public attitudes is of extreme concern and the statistics he has referred to show exactly why we have focused on this area as much as we have. We have worked extremely closely with social media platforms to try to minimise the availability of this material, and we have a large communications programme to engage with those concerned about taking the vaccine. I reassure him that our experience to date has been that when those who are considering taking the vaccine reach the moment of decision, their confidence increases, and I am hopeful that that will continue.

[Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, in the Statement made in the other place, reference was made to notification to the World Health Organization about the new variant. The Statement went on to say:

“Public Health England is working hard to continue its expert analysis at Porton Down.”—[Official Report, Commons, 14/12/20; col. 23.]


I invite the Minister to make it absolutely clear that the work done at Porton Down is on behalf of the whole United Kingdom, not only Public Health England, and that any of the vaccinations which have been procured are procured on behalf of the whole United Kingdom. He may also want to say how the vaccines are to be distributed.

[Lord Bethell (Con) [V]]

The noble Baroness is entirely right. The vaccine is a great success story for the union and for the United Kingdom. We have had a four-nation approach and the distribution of the vaccine shows the union at its best. She is right to say that the work done at Porton Down is on behalf of all the nations of the United Kingdom and that the communication to the WHO was on behalf of the whole country. That communication demonstrates that our approach to the vaccine is to put transparency first and that we have moved extremely quickly to share this insight with our colleagues overseas.