Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the NHS app will (1) record the date a COVID-19 booster vaccine has been administered, and (2) specify the type of COVID-19 vaccine used, with equal prominence to the first and second vaccinations.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Booster and third dose COVID-19 vaccinations are visible within the NHS COVID Pass through the NHS App and NHS.UK. The record includes information about the vaccine used and the date it was administered. The booster record can be found in the NHS COVID Pass for travel and the domestic pass. Boosters and third doses are displayed first, followed by an individual's first and second vaccinations.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 29 September (HL2638), what assessment they have made of the higher hospitalisations and fatalities relating to COVID-19 recorded in England, compared to those reported in other Western European countries; and what were the main conclusions of any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency has not made this comparative assessment. Direct international comparisons of COVID-19 hospitalisations and fatalities in countries are complicated by a range of different factors such as the proportion of the population vaccinated, the timeliness of the vaccine delivery, non-pharmaceutical interventions and compliance and differences in reporting of key COVID-19 epidemiological metrics in different countries. Even when using several indicators, comparisons between countries should be carried out with caution.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the incidence of cases of COVID-19 in the UK on 1 September compared to the average incidence rate across Europe on that day, and (2) the reasons why the UK rate was higher than the European average.
Answered by Lord Kamall - Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
Data on the incidence of COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom is not available in the format requested, therefore no such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of COVID-19 infections transmitted via (1) the air, and (2) surfaces.
Answered by Lord Bethell
No specific assessment has been made.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) global, and (2) UK national, frameworks of (a) institutions, (b) capabilities, (c) processes, and (d) co-operation, that will be needed in the future effectively to detect and to counter pandemics.
Answered by Lord Bethell
We continually assess our pandemic preparedness plans to ensure that they remain as robust as possible. This assessment includes, as appropriate, incorporating lessons learned from exercises that test the readiness of our plans and from our experience in responding to pandemics, disease outbreaks, and other types of incident in the United Kingdom. The UK Health Security Agency, established in April 2021, will be dedicated to ensuring that we are protected from all future health threats including pandemics.
International cooperation is and will remain essential to detecting and countering pandemics and the Prime Minister, together with other world leaders, has called for a new international treaty on pandemic preparedness. We continue to take every opportunity to engage with our international counterparts, including through the G7 and G20, with the World Health Organization and with the European Union as set out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the above-average incidence of COVID-19 infections in Corby in February and March; and what assessment they have made of the efficacy of restrictions in place to reduce transmission of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Variation in the number of COVID-19 cases is caused by a number of factors including demography, behaviour and rate of testing. Corby has higher levels of people living in areas of deprivation. Living and working conditions for these groups contribute to increased transmission rates. A large proportion of working age people in Corby have jobs which require them to attend their workplaces, increasing the risk of transmission. It is an area with multi-generational families who live in proximity with potential for household mixing.
There was an increased level of local enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions during February and March. Case numbers have fallen in this period which from 294 cases per 100,000 population at the start of March to 183 on 24 March.