EU Coronavirus Vaccine Programme

Lord Lexden Excerpts

Monday 13th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

The Vaccine Taskforce is of course considering all the academic work being done in this field; it is a rapidly developing sphere of science. I am sure that we welcome the work taking place at the institution mentioned by the noble Baroness, but a lot of other research institutes are already looking into it. There are a number of developing vaccine forms which require different manufacturing processes to produce individual vaccines, and we are of course evaluating all of them.

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Lexden) (Con)]

Viscount Waverley. No? No connection, I think. I call the noble Lord, Lord Dobbs.

[Lord Dobbs (Con) [V]]

My Lords, there have been some pretty knee-jerk reactions to this announcement. Can the Minister confirm that this decision is not about being against co-operation—far from it; it is precisely what Brexit and a new policy are about: a new relationship based on co-operation? However, does my noble friend agree that in this crucial step in our battle against the virus it would be entirely inappropriate to hand over decisions about costs, timing and distribution, and even rationing if it came to that, to a European Commission on which there is not a single British voice?