UK Inquiry Tracker

COVID-19: Planning for the vaccine (part 1)

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry

Opened: 17 Dec 2020 Closed: 19 Apr 2021 Parliament page

Since the first cases of COVID-19 in the UK in January 2020, the impact on society and the economy has been significant. Government’s overall objective since May has been “to return to life as close to normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and fairly as … Read more Since the first cases of COVID-19 in the UK in January 2020, the impact on society and the economy has been significant. Government’s overall objective since May has been “to return to life as close to normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and fairly as possible”. A vaccination programme plays a central role in achieving this objective. Extremely high global demand, coupled with the scarcity of vaccine resources, has put added pressure on government to make fast-paced decisions to secure access to potential vaccines, and to quickly build the capacity to manufacture and deploy them. On 2 December 2020, the first vaccine for use in the UK was approved by the regulator and deployment began on 8 December. This first inquiry on the development and roll out of a Covid-19 vaccine covers the period from April to 8 December 2020 and examines government’s approach and progress in securing potential vaccines and determining how they will be deployed to the public. The UK government has worked quickly to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines, successfully signing deals for five vaccines providing up to 267 million doses at an expected cost of £2.9 billion. The total cost to the taxpayer of government’s efforts to purchase and deploy vaccines is uncertain. The current estimate is up to £11.7 billion which includes the costs of purchasing and manufacturing vaccines for the UK, deploying them in England and investing in global efforts to purchase vaccines. Many pharmaceutical companies requested immunity in the event of liabilities or legal action relating to their vaccines, meaning the taxpayer may have to pay the costs of claims against them. In four out of the five contracts agreed so far, no cap has been applied to the amount that government could pay in the event of a successful claim against the pharmaceutical companies. NHSE&I is planning a vaccination programme with high levels of uncertainty because information about the COVID-19 vaccines is constantly changing. Each potential vaccine requires different plans for rolling it out to the public because each has different characteristics. These include the temperature it should be stored at, its shelf-life once open, and how it should be prepared before it is administered. In September 2020 NHSE&I calculated that if every adult in England needed to be vaccinated with two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, its vaccination workload would increase by 740%. NHSE&I calculated that it may need up to 46,000 staff consisting of 26,000 vaccinators and 20,000 administrative staff to deliver the COVID-19 vaccination programme based on a 75% take-up rate. As at 8 December 2020, NHSE&I’s planning assumption is that it could vaccinate up to 25 million people with two doses throughout 2021. The Committee will question senior officials at the Department for Business, the Department for Health and Social Care, the NHS including the Vaccine Taskforce, and Public Health England. If you have evidence on this first stage of the UK’s vaccination programme – sourcing and preparing the first Covid19 vaccine - please submit it here by 6pm on Tuesday 5 January 2021 Show less

31 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

9 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 13 events

3 Sep
2021

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Forty-third report from Session 2019-21

14 May
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, re Response to the Committee…

20 Apr
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re The panning for a Vaccine (Part 1)…

16 Apr
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from letter from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department for Health and Social Care, and Sarah Munby, Permane…

16 Apr
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, re Response to the Committee…

16 Mar
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from NHS Chief Executive, Sir Simon Stevens, re Follow up to the Public Accounts Committee Oral Evidence Session on Covid- …

8 Mar
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, re Planning for a vaccine Par…

25 Feb
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sir Chris Wormald KCB, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health and Social Care, re 11 Jan hearing on Covid 19 vaccine…

12 Feb
2021

Report published

Forty-Third Report - COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine Part 1

1 Feb
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Michael Brodie, Interim Chief Executive, Public Health England, re COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine (part 1), dated 25 …

13 Jan
2021

Correspondence

Correspondence from Sarah Munby, Permanent Secretary, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and Sir Chris Wormald, Perman…

11 Jan
2021

Oral evidence

COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine (part 1)

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

11 Jan 2021

View on parliament.uk

COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine (part 1)

Emily Lawson · NHS England and NHS Improvement Kate Bingham · UK Vaccine Taskforce Michael Brodie · NHS Business Service Authority Nick Elliott · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Sarah Munby · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Sir Chris Wormald · Department of Health and Social Care Sir Simon Stevens · NHS England and NHS Improvement

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Forty-Third Report - COVID-19: Planning for a vaccine Part 1	HC 930	12 Feb 2021	31	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

31 results

2 Conclusion

Forty-Third Report - COVID-19: Pla…

Despite BEIS’s confidence, concerns remain over the vaccine supply chain.

Despite BEIS’s confidence, concerns remain over the vaccine supply chain. Under the Government’s ambitious plans, everyone who wants a vaccination should be able to have one by Autumn 2021. This will depend on continuing vaccine supply. Whilst BEIS asserts that … Read more

Government Response

3. PAC conclusion: HM Revenue & Customs breached its Net Cash Requirement by £726 million.

HM Treasury

COVID-19: Planning for the vaccine (part 1)

Activity timeline 13 events

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Recommendations & Conclusions

Despite BEIS’s confidence, concerns remain over the vaccine supply chain.

BEIS has worked quickly to secure access to vaccines but could have been more transparent...

DHSC, NHSE&I and PHE will continue to face significant challenges in making sure they can...

There is a risk that NHSE&I and DHSC’s plans for the vaccine programme will not...

Public confidence in the vaccine programme is crucial to its success yet some members of...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

BEIS created a Vaccines Taskforce (the Taskforce) in April 2020 to support the research and...

The Chair of the Taskforce took up the unpaid post in May 2020.

Our report on Government’s procurement and supply of personal protective equipment during the pandemic found...

We asked what premium the UK had paid for its access to the vaccines and...

In response to our questions about whether the UK now had access to enough doses...

On 11 January 2021, the Secretary of State of Health and Social Care stated that...

Manufacturing the vaccines is the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies.

Government plans to have offered a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four...

We asked NHSE&I whether the timetable for the roll-out of the vaccine was realistic, and...

NHSE&I is planning its deployment of vaccines in the face of high levels of uncertainty...

Decisions about who will be vaccinated were taken by the Secretary of State for Health...

We asked what progress had been made in identifying who would be prioritised in the...

Each potential vaccine will require different plans for deploying it to the public because each...

In September 2020, NHSE&I estimated that it could need up to 46,000 additional staff to...

The NHSE&I concluded that it was not possible to deliver both the COVID-19 and seasonal...

We were concerned that this approach risked creating a ‘stop-start’ system where the logistics for...

In its written evidence to us, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics noted that COVID-19 had...

NHSE&I recognised that its goal of vaccinating the top four priority groups by mid- February...

When it was first rolled-out, the vaccine programme included a three-week break between people receiving...

In 2019–20 the long-established seasonal flu vaccination programme had a take-up rate of 72% among...

PHE recognised that people trust their local GP, local faith groups and community groups so...

The number of people who choose to have the vaccine will ultimately be determined by...

Research commissioned by PHE showed that about two-thirds of the population were very likely to...

We were concerned by reports of confusion among health professionals and the public about what...

NHSE&I explained that it would give people “more than one channel and more than one...

Correspondence 9 letters