Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is any evidence of variants of COVID-19 which can be traced to specific countries of origin; and if so, what proportion of reported COVID-19 cases have been linked to the variant of COVID-19 from Italy.
Answered by Lord Bethell
It is common for viruses to mutate - over 4,000 variants of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified worldwide. The United Kingdom has a world leading surveillance system that supports the detection, analysis and identification of any variants circulating globally which may be of concern.
COVID-19 Genomics UK will continue to lead on monitoring virus samples for new variants. The Department and Public Health England will continue to study the virus closely to understand how it is behaving, where it might have originated from and the spread of the new variant across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the article by Giovanni Apolone et al Unexpected detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in the prepandemic period in Italy, published in the Tumori Journal on 11 November.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England monitors the evidence on COVID-19, including articles such as that by Apolone et al.
This published study uses in-house serological methods which require considerable assurance on their specificity and sensitivity, which is not provided in the paper. Therefore, there are several reservations about the laboratory methods used, which provide uncertainty about the conclusions drawn.
Whilst indicative of the possibility, this article is not definitive evidence of the presence of COVID-19 virus in Italy in December and additional supportive evidence is required to achieve high confidence in this assertion.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the COVID-19 planned for use vaccines prevent those vaccinated from transmitting the disease.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent a person who receives only one dose of (1) an adenovirus vector, or (2) an mRNA, COVID-19 vaccination is (a) vulnerable to COVID-19 themselves, and (b) able to transmit the disease on to a second person.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent a person who completes a two-dose course of (1) an adenovirus vector, and (2) an mRNA, COVID-19 vaccination remains (a) vulnerable to COVID-19 themselves, and (b) able to transmit the disease on to a second person.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long a person who has received the two-doses of the COVID-19 vaccine required under the vaccination protocols is able to transmit COVID-19 on to a second person
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the incidence of vaccinated people being able to pass on COVID-19 to those who have not been vaccinated in the trial COVID-19 vaccination programmes.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government for how long a person who has received the two-doses of the COVID-19 vaccine required under the vaccination protocols can remain asymptomatic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether a person who has been vaccinated against COVID-19 can acquire COVID-19 asymptomatic status without indicators and transmit the virus on to another person who has not been vaccinated.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether (1) an adenovirus vector, and (2) an mRNA, COVID-19 vaccine (a) does not prevent a vaccinated person from contracting COVID-19 but suppresses the symptoms of the disease, or (2) prevents a vaccinated person from contracting COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as well as independent expert advisors on the Commission on Human Medicines and its Expert Working Groups, have completed the assessment of the quality, safety and efficacy data only for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and data supported a two dose regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in terms of prevention of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in terms of vulnerability to COVID-19 of the person vaccinated. Clinical trial data showed that, compared to the placebo, efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from first COVID-19 occurrence from seven days after dose two in participants with or without evidence of prior infection with SARS-CoV-2 was 94.6% - a 95% credible interval of 89.9% to 97.3%).
There is currently no data available regarding transmission of COVID-19 to others in a person who has been vaccinated using any of the COVID-19 vaccines. There is also currently no data available for any COVID-19 vaccine on the period after vaccination for which a person can remain asymptomatic.