After helping three quarters of a million Scots during the pandemic the COVID special helpline service will formally close at 4pm on Thursday 30th June 2022.
This reflects changes in national guidance on testing and isolation advice. All information will continue to be available at www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus.
NHS 24 Medical Director, Dr Laura Ryan said: “The formal closure of the non-clinical Covid 19 special helpline reflects how life is returning to a more normal or familiar pattern.
“Covid-19 has not gone away. We still need continue to follow the current guidelines and advice to keep everyone safe. This includes getting your vaccines, staying at home if unwell with Covid -19 symptoms, and simple but effective measures such as washing hands frequently.
“There is an extensive range of information on NHS Inform including symptom checkers for Coronavirus which provide advice and suggest what to do if your condition worsens.
“Remember, if you are unwell or concerned about your symptoms, please continue to access care as normal.”
G7 leaders are expected to commit to using all their resources to prevent a global pandemic from ever happening again when they meet in Cornwall today.
Leaders will sign-up to Carbis Bay Declaration on health, vowing to take steps to ensure the global devastation caused by coronavirus is never repeated
UK will establish a new centre to develop vaccines to prevent zoonotic diseases spreading from animals to humans
G7 countries and guests will be joined by Sir Patrick Vallance and Melinda French Gates who will present their ‘100 day mission’ to speed up the time it takes to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostics
G7 leaders will commit to using all their resources to prevent a global pandemic from ever happening again when they meet in Cornwall today (Saturday).
The world’s leading democracies are expected to agree the ‘Carbis Bay Declaration’, an historic statement setting out a series of concrete commitments to prevent any repeat of the human and economic devastation wreaked by coronavirus.
Leaders will be joined in their discussions on global health at the G7 Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall today by their counterparts from South Korea, South Africa, Australia and India, and the Secretary General of the UN alongside other leaders of international organisations – recognising the need to tackle the roots of the coronavirus pandemic on a truly global level.
They will receive a presentation by Sir Patrick Vallance and Melinda French Gates on the work of the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership, a group of international experts drawn from across industry, government and scientific institutions established by the UK earlier this year to advise the G7 on how to prevent, detect and respond to future pandemics.
Today the Pandemic Preparedness Partnership will publish an independent report, the ‘100 Days Mission to Respond to Future Pandemic Threats’, which contains actionable recommendations on how governments and others can quickly respond to any future outbreaks. The first 100 days after the identification of an epidemic threat are crucial to changing its course and, ideally, preventing it from becoming a pandemic.
The Carbis Bay declaration will incorporate the recommendations of this report and set out the other steps G7 countries will take to prevent a future pandemic. These include slashing the time taken to develop and licence vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, a commitment to reinforce global surveillance networks and genomic sequencing capacity and support for reforming and strengthening the World Health Organization.
75% of new human diseases originate in animals and these diseases are emerging at an increasing rate. Controlling zoonotic diseases is a key element of the PM’s 5 Point Plan for preventing future pandemics set out at the UN last year – the first plan articulated by a G7 leader on pandemic preparedness. To stop new animal-borne diseases before they put people at risk, the UK will establish a UK Animal Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre at The Pirbright Institute in Surrey.
The Centre will draw on Pirbright’s world leading expertise to accelerate the delivery of vaccines for livestock diseases. These diseases pose a risk to people if they mutate to become transmissible to humans and can devastate agriculture in the UK and internationally. The centre will rapidly assess promising new technologies in the field, and develop and test novel vaccines for emerging diseases.
The UK has led the fight against Covid-19 through our support for the development of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and has a long history of leadership in vaccine research. Smallpox and rinderpest – the first two diseases in history to be totally wiped out – were eradicated using vaccines developed by British scientists.
The UK has contributed £10 million of funding for centre, which will establish the UK as world leader in the rapidly growing field of novel livestock vaccine development capability. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will provide £14.5m to establish the centre, building on its current investments in vaccines for livestock and zoonotic diseases at The Pirbright Institute.
This follows the Prime Minister’s announcement last month that the UK had launched plans for a global ‘pandemic radar’ to identify emerging COVID-19 variants and track new diseases around the world. Today he will ask for G7 support for the Global Pandemic Radar, which will protect domestic vaccine programmes against new vaccine-resistant variants by identifying them early and before they are able to spread.
The G7 is uniquely well-placed to lead global efforts in pandemic prevention – the group is home to two-thirds of the world’s pharmaceutical market and the four coronavirus vaccines licenced for use in the UK were all developed in G7 nations (the UK, US and Germany).
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “In the last year the world has developed several effective coronavirus vaccines, licenced and manufactured them at pace and is now getting them into the arms of the people who need them.
“But to truly defeat coronavirus and recover we need to prevent a pandemic like this from ever happening again. That means learning lessons from the last 18 months and doing it differently next time around.
“I am proud that for the first time today the world’s leading democracies have come together to make sure that never again will we be caught unawares.”
The Carbis Bay declaration is expected to be agreed by leaders today and published tomorrow alongside the G7 Summit Communique.
It builds on the steps taken by others to strengthen pandemic preparedness this year, including the recent recommendations of the Independent Panel for Preparedness and Response.
The UK is also supporting work in the World Health Organization on a Pandemic Treaty to increase global efforts to prevent future pandemics.
Dr Tedros Adhanom, Director General of the World Health Organization said: “We welcome the Carbis Bay Health Declaration, particularly as the world begins to recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Together we need to build on the significant scientific and collaborative response to the COVID-19 pandemic and find common solutions to address many of the gaps identified.
“To this end WHO welcomes and will take forward the UK’s proposal for a Global Pandemic Radar. As we discussed, the world needs a stronger global surveillance system to detect new epidemic and pandemic risks.”
Professor Bryan Charleston, Director and CEO of Pirbright said: “There is a global unmet need to accelerate the development of vaccines from the laboratory to provide effective products for livestock keepers to control disease in their animals. Preventing disease by vaccination will help secure food supplies and so improve human health and welfare.
“The importance of this centre has been recognised by UKRI-Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who have worked together to develop a plan to establish this new facility that will also play a key role in controlling zoonotic diseases.”
Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, a co-funder of the UK Animal Vaccine and Innovation Centre project said: “In the last year, more than ever, we have recognised the global importance of vaccine research and how the UK plays a leading role.
“Now, we can take the opportunity of joining UK expertise with an international effort in the field of veterinary vaccines. The new facility – which BBSRC will co-fund – at the world-renowned Pirbright Institute, will be a shield and a sword against animal diseases that can devastate agriculture and infect human populations.”
Rodger Voorhies, President, Global Growth & Opportunity at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said: “We see this partnership as an exciting opportunity to build on British scientific excellence to safeguard the livelihoods of farmers in poor and marginalised communities around the globe, while protecting people everywhere from the increasing risk posed by zoonotic diseases.”
The UK Government has secured early access to 90 million vaccine doses from the BioNTech/Pfizer alliance and Valneva with more in the pipeline as part of its strategy to build a portfolio of promising new vaccines to protect the UK from Covid-19
In addition, treatments containing Covid-19-neutralising antibodies have been secured from AstraZeneca to protect those who cannot receive vaccines
UK public encouraged to sign up to a new NHS website to make it quicker and easier for potential volunteers to join vital studies that could help save lives – the aim is to get 500,000 people signed up by October
Millions of people could be vaccinated against coronavirus as the UK secures early access to 90 million doses of promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates.
Announced by Business Secretary Alok Sharma today, the UK Government has agreed significant partnerships with leading pharmaceutical and vaccine companies BioNTech/Pfizer and Valneva that are developing innovative new vaccines to protect people against Covid-19.
The Government has also secured access to treatments containing Covid-19-neutralising antibodies from AstraZeneca to protect those who cannot receive vaccines such as cancer and immunocompromised patients.
As a result of these partnerships, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland could have access to enough doses to vaccinate and protect priority groups identified, such as frontline health and social care workers and those at increased health risk.
With today’s announcement, the Government has now secured access to three different types of Covid-19 vaccines that are being developed here and around the world, giving the UK the most likely chance of getting access to a safe and effective vaccine at the quickest speed.
The Government has also today launched the NHS Covid-19 vaccine research registry. This new website will enable people in the UK to play their part by volunteering for future vaccine studies.
The new online service will allow members of the public to register their interest and be contacted to participate in clinical studies. To enable large-scale vaccine studies to take place across the UK, the aim is to get 500,000 people signed up by October, which is considered vital in the fight against coronavirus.
Clinical studies with hundreds of thousands of volunteers will help scientists and researchers better understand the effectiveness of each vaccine candidate and will considerably speed up efforts to discover a safe and workable vaccine.
The Government is also working with ZOE, the health science company using data driven research and behind the popular symptom study app and site, to look at collaborating around vaccine studies and to help their volunteers hear about how to sign up to the NHS registry.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “The hunt to find a vaccine is a truly global endeavour and we are doing everything we can to ensure the British public get access to a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible.
“This new partnership with some of the world’s foremost pharmaceutical and vaccine companies will ensure the UK has the best chance possible of securing a vaccine that protects those most at risk.
“The public can also play their part in vaccine research through the new NHS vaccine research register. By signing up and participating in important clinical studies, together we can speed up the search for a vaccine and end the pandemic sooner.”
Through its partnership with Valneva, which has a factory in Livingston, the UK Government is expected to contribute to UK clinical studies costs and is negotiating funding to expand Valneva’s Scottish facility.
This increased manufacturing capacity could potentially supply up to 100 million vaccine doses to the UK and internationally. This will create high-skilled jobs in the local area and contribute significantly to the local economy.
The Livingston facility is in addition to the new Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (VMIC) which is currently under construction in Oxfordshire thanks to a £93 million investment from the Government. When completed in summer 2021, the facility will have flexible capacity to manufacture vaccine doses at scale.
Chair of the Vaccine Taskforce Kate Bingham said: “The Vaccine Taskforce is investing in a diverse portfolio of vaccine candidates to maximise the chances of finding a vaccine quickly that meets the UK’s rigorous regulatory and safety standards.
“The fact that we have so many promising candidates already shows the unprecedented pace at which we are moving. But I urge against being complacent or over optimistic. The fact remains we may never get a vaccine and if we do get one, we have to be prepared that it may not be a vaccine which prevents getting the virus, but rather one that reduces symptoms.”
Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer and National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) head said: “Thanks to COVID-19 patients’ willingness to take part in treatment studies, we’ve been able to identify treatments that work and ones that don’t, which has improved patient care world-wide.
“Now that there are several promising vaccines on the horizon, we need to call again on the generosity of the public to help find out which potential vaccines are the most effective.
“Using a new NHS website developed in partnership between the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and NHS Digital, people across the UK can register their interest to be approached to join a vaccine study. Please go to the website and consider volunteering.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “A safe and effective vaccine is our best hope of defeating coronavirus and returning to life as normal.
We have some of our best scientists and researchers working on this, but members of the public have a vital role to play too. So I urge everyone who can to back the national effort and sign up to the NHS COVID-19 vaccine research registry to help find a vaccine as soon as possible.
“Every volunteer will be doing their bit towards finding a vaccine for COVID-19 that will have the potential to save millions of lives around the world and bring this pandemic to an end.”
Today’s announcement follows an existing global licensing agreement signed with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to research, develop and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine for the UK public. AstraZeneca will work to produce 100 million doses for the UK in total.
As part of a wider £131 million investment by the Government, support has also been given to Imperial College London to develop their vaccine candidate, which started human studies in June.
In addition, the UK Government has committed £250m to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) – the biggest investment of any country – to support equitable and affordable access to new coronavirus vaccines and treatments around the world.
