Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between John Lamont and Sajid Javid

Tuesday 18th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The hon. Gentleman is right about the importance of helping the whole world to acquire these life-saving vaccines. That is why the UK can be proud of the more than 30 million vaccines that it has delivered to developing countries already. We will meet our commitment to increase that to 100 million by June, but we do not agree with the suggestion about the TRIPS waiver, because it will make future access to life-saving vaccines much more difficult.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

T6. I was delighted by the recent announcement of £50 million for motor neurone disease research, which my constituent Doddie Weir campaigned for tirelessly. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the steps being taken to allocate those funds, and to ensure that is done as quickly as possible, as time is of the essence for MND sufferers?

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that point, and I commend him on the fantastic work that he has done in leading this campaign. We were delighted to announce £50 million of funding for MND research. That will support a new MND research unit, which has already started work to co-ordinate research applications, and a new MND partnership, which will be formed to pool expertise across the research community.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between John Lamont and Sajid Javid

Friday 26th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

I very much agree with every word the right hon. Gentleman says, especially about surplus vaccines. That is exactly what we have done: whenever we have identified vaccines we may not need, we have offered them either bilaterally or through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, or COVAX, programme. We will continue to play our role but, importantly, we will also continue to urge our international partners to do all they can as well.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

I commend the Government for the speed with which they have taken this decision and I welcome the Scottish Government’s following suit, because in the past there has been concern about the lack of consistency across the UK. Does the Health Secretary agree that this is a useful reminder that the pandemic is still with us and we all have a responsibility to get vaccinated, which includes getting the booster?

[Sajid Javid]

First, I can tell my hon. Friend that there has been excellent co-ordination across the UK on this matter. As I mentioned earlier, Scotland and all parts of the UK will be aligning with what I have announced. The booster programme, as I say, could not be more important. The very latest figures are that 28.5% of the UK population over the age of 12 has been boosted, far and away more than any other country in Europe and, I think, second only to the United States, but that is still not enough. We need everyone to come forward, and if there are people out there listening and wondering what they can do, the single most important thing they can do, if they are eligible for a booster, is to go and get it. Go out this weekend and make it your booster weekend.