The former head of UK’s vaccination program stated that the country’s preparation for a pandemic has decreased compared to before the Covid outbreak due to driving away manufacturers and relying on a limited selection of vaccines.

Dr. Clive Dix, the leader of the UK’s vaccine taskforce, informed members of Parliament on Wednesday that efforts to prepare for future pandemics have significantly declined. He stated that all initiatives in this area have essentially disappeared.

The efforts of the vaccine team have been highly praised as a notable success in the United Kingdom’s response to Covid. It was headed by Kate Bingham, a venture capitalist, and Dix, who assumed the role of chair in December 2020, when the UK became the first nation to distribute Covid vaccines.

During a meeting with the science, innovation, and technology committee in the House of Commons, Dix stated that he and Bingham provided the government with a list of effective suggestions to ensure that the UK is more prepared for future pandemics. However, these suggestions were not implemented or made public. Dix also mentioned that certain ongoing efforts were halted.

Dix expressed a major worry about the UK’s dependence on mRNA vaccines, which are used in the Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines, to address future outbreaks. He stated during the hearing that this is a concerning situation and that these vaccines are not a complete solution. He emphasized the importance of understanding the virus and its antigen, which is the part that activates the immune system.

According to Dix, aside from not making investments in various vaccine technologies, the UK’s poor treatment of vaccine manufacturers also drove them away, resulting in a worse situation for the country in regards to Covid.

“I have observed a series of poor decisions,” Dix informed members of Parliament. “The UK’s resilience has decreased as many manufacturers have left due to their mistreatment by the vaccine taskforce.”

The issue of Valneva, a French company that shut down a vaccine plant it had constructed in Scotland due to the government terminating their contract during the last phase of clinical trials, was brought up. When the deal was cancelled, former health secretary Sajid Javid stated that the UK would not have authorized the vaccine, but the drug regulator ultimately approved it. Dix referred to these remarks as “ineptitude at the most senior level.”

A statement presented to Members of Parliament by the Pandemic Sciences Institute at Oxford University expressed worries about inadequate preparedness, stating that Britain was not ready for the recent mpox outbreak and is still unprepared for a potential avian influenza epidemic.

Andrew Pollard, the head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, testified with Dix and warned against solely preparing for future pandemics similar to Covid. Although the development of Covid vaccines took almost a year, it was built upon years of important research on coronaviruses. However, research on other potential pandemic-causing pathogens was significantly delayed.

According to him, we are currently unprepared for future pandemics due to a lack of necessary knowledge and resources. It took 11 months to develop a vaccine during the last pandemic.

Source: theguardian.com