Covid-19: Vaccine

Lord Balfe Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, we have extremely detailed and thorough arrangements for our borders on 31 December. No problems are envisaged with regard to the vaccine.

[Lord Balfe (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to the bit of the Question that says:

“distribute approved coronavirus vaccines in the UK and internationally”.

There is a great danger in the international distribution that corruption will creep into the system. Can the Minister assure me that the Government will co-ordinate with the EU and like-minded international aid agencies to ensure that corruption is avoided and the vaccine that we donate is delivered for free to vulnerable groups in countries overseas?

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very reasonable point. The marketplace for vaccines is extremely competitive. The British Government have been emphatic in our commitment to CEPI, Gavi and the other vaccine organisations. The COVAX advance market commitment aims to produce 1 billion doses for high-risk populations in 92 developing countries in 2021. We support that initiative enormously and work with other partners to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines around the world.