Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the minutes of the deliberations of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on the use of Vitamin D3 in the treatment of covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a rapid evidence summary on vitamin D for COVID-19 in June. This includes vitamin D3. There are no minutes as the process for developing rapid evidence summaries does not include a committee stage. Instead, NICE conducted a robust targeted review with a wide range of external expert advisers, as listed in the evidence review. This is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/es28/evidence/evidence-review-pdf-8777674477
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the availability of Priadel to NHS prescribers.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Supplies of Priadel (lithium carbonate) are currently available.
The Department is aware Priadel tablets are being discontinued in April 2021, but alternative lithium products will remain available and we have worked with national mental health experts to issue guidance for healthcare professionals to support those affected.
We continue to work closely with the supplier and wholesalers to maintain the availability of Priadel and to ensure supply remains available for patients. We are aware that the supplier has quotas in place to reduce the risk of stockpiling but have confirmed that ordering mechanisms are in place to ensure all prescriptions for Priadel can access this treatment.
We have also added lithium carbonate to the parallel export restriction list (8 September 2020) to ensure supplies remain available for the United Kingdom.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the conclusions of the study by the Reina Sofia University Hospital, Córdoba, on the use of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the treatment of covid-19, published in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on 29 August 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has noted the findings from this study. Public Health England (PHE) is monitoring any new, high quality evidence on nutrition and COVID-19 and is seeking further advice from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) as appropriate. On 29 June 2020, the SACN and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published a rapid evidence review which concluded that there is currently no evidence to support taking vitamin D supplements to reduce the risk or severity of COVID-19.
In April 2020, PHE re-issued advice on vitamin D supplementation, advising that people who do not go outdoors often should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D to prevent deficiency. Existing evidence also highlights that people who have dark skin – for example, have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background – may also not get enough vitamin D from sunlight. This advice is not about reducing the risk of COVID-19 or mitigating its effects; vitamin D is needed to keep bones and muscles healthy.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the decision by the US Food and Drug Administration to authorise the marketing of the IQOS electrically heated tobacco system as a modified risk tobacco product in the US, if he will (a) undertake a review of policy in relation to such products in the UK and (b) introduce a regulatory framework for those goods based on risk.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 7 July 2020, the United States Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) classified IQOS as a ‘modified risk product’ and permitted the use of certain information in their advertising and marketing of the products. The FDA states that this does not mean these products are safe or “FDA approved” and they will continue to monitor them.
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) provided an independent assessment of the harms of heated tobacco products for the Government. COT reported in December 2017 and found that the evidence suggests heated tobacco products pose a risk to users and though there is likely to be a reduction in risk for cigarette smokers who switch to these products, it is best to quit entirely.
In the United Kingdom heated tobacco products are regulated under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 (TRPR) and classed as a novel tobacco product. The Government has a legal commitment to carry out a post-implementation review of TRPR by May 2021.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether general practitioners are entitled to conduct covid-19 antibody tests on their own authority.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
Antibody tests are available to National Health Service and care staff, eligible patients and care residents in England to see if they have had COVID-19 as part of the new national antibody testing programme. The antibody test will be available for clinicians to use in their routine management of NHS patients as appropriate, and also for any patient who is already having blood taken as part of other tests. A positive test result for antibodies does not mean that the person being tested is immune to COVID-19. There is currently no firm evidence that the presence of antibodies means someone cannot be re-infected with the virus or will not pass it on to someone else. If someone tests positive, they still need to follow social distancing measures and appropriate use of personal protective equipment.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Welsh Government on co-operation between England and Wales for the NHS Test and Trace service.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The importance of developing a consistent and joined-up approach to contact tracing and testing across the whole of the United Kingdom is regularly discussed between the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and his counterparts in each of the devolved administrations, most recently on 28 May 2020 at the weekly Four Nations ministerial call.
To support this, officials within the Department, NHSX and Public Health England are working closely with counterparts in the Welsh Government – as in each of the devolved administrations – to explore opportunities for aligning and integrating contact tracing and testing systems.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to revise its advice to diabetics in respect of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Those with diabetes are already on the wider clinically vulnerable list and should be strictly following social distancing measures. The guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 has been developed by expert doctors identifying specific medical conditions based on what we know about the virus so far. We will continue to keep this evidence under review.
In addition, general practitioners and hospital specialists have been asked to recommend other patients follow shielding guidance, based on clinical judgement and an assessment of each individual’s needs.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of Vitamin D in the (a) treatment and (b) prevention of covid-19.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Public Health England (PHE) is monitoring any new, high quality evidence on nutrition and COVID-19 and seeking the advice of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) as appropriate. PHE is carrying out a rapid review of recent evidence relating to vitamin D and the prevention of acute respiratory tract infections for SACN to consider at its meeting in June 2020.
PHE is aware of reviews and trials underway further exploring the vitamin D and the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Examples of clinical trials underway on vitamin D and COVID-19 can be found at the following link:
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?cond=COVID&term=vitamin+d&cntry=&state=&city=&dist
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what permissions the Government has (a) sought and (b) obtained from Apple for the use of the NHS test, trace and track app on iPhones.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
We have sought and obtained permission from Apple to include the National Health Service COVID-19 app on the App Store.
Asked by: David Jones (Conservative - Clwyd West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether there is sufficient interoperability between NHS England and NHS Wales IT systems for the effective operation of a test, trace and track app.
Answered by Nadine Dorries
The Department and NHSX have been working closely with our partners in the devolved administrations throughout this outbreak. The National Health Service COVID-19 app will be available throughout the United Kingdom and the devolved administrations may choose to use the app as part of their response to COVID-19. A representative from each devolved administration has been sitting on the NHS COVID-19 app oversight board since mid-March. There is also a working group that is ensuring the NHS COVID-19 app can be integrated with devolved administrations’ test and trace plans.