PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Coronavirus: Vaccination (17 November 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what risk assessment his Department has carried out on their bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies for covid-19 vaccine candidates.

Asked by:
Navendu Mishra (Labour)

The UK’s bilateral deals with pharmaceutical companies for Covid-19 vaccines include funding for research and development, investment in manufacturing and vaccine trials. This investment supports the global scale up of vaccine production and therefore the quantity of vaccines available for healthcare workers and vulnerable groups globally. The UK is a strong supporter of the multilateral Covid-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX) initiative as a means to both get vaccines for the UK population and ensure equitable global access. The UK announced that it will contribute up to £500 million for the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment, which will give lower and middle-income countries equitable access to vaccines that are developed.

Answered by:
Amanda Solloway (Conservative)
25 November 2020