Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether a process has been established to evaluate future prophylactic treatments for covid-19.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The PROTECT-V clinical trial tests several treatments intended to reduce the risk of confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 infections in vulnerable renal and immunosuppressed patients and the associated risk of hospitalisation and death. The study focuses on prophylactic drugs administered over a six-month period to test the effectiveness at reducing the spread of the virus among those who may be exposed at regular hospital check-ups or dialysis appointments.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the decision-making process was ahead of the decision not to procure Evusheld including what (a) discussions took place and (b) evidence was used to inform the decision; and for what reason the Government decided not to procure Evusheld.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Government has decided not to procure Evusheld for prevention through emergency routes at this time. This is a decision based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. These groups considered a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies and concluded there is currently insufficient evidence of benefit to recommend deployment. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and this should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation.
The Department wrote to patient groups on 5 September 2022 with information on this decision and evidence considered. The letter summarised the evidence considered by RAPID C-19 that contributed to the decision not to procure and deploy Evusheld and detailed the next steps the Government will take.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to expand the availability of Evusheld as a prophylactic through clinical trials.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Following engagement with AstraZeneca, we have encouraged the company to continue discussions with the Antivirals and Therapeutics Taskforce (ATTF) and the Chief Scientific Adviser on options for evaluating the clinical effectiveness of Evusheld. Clinical advisers have recommended a United Kingdom clinical trial to generate sufficient data to understand Evusheld’s effectiveness against current and future variants. The ATTF are currently considering options for such a trial.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the commitment in the Women’s Health Strategy for England, published on 19 July 2022, to certify pregnancy losses occurring before 24 weeks, in what ways that certification will differ from informal certification practices already provided in some hospitals.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There is currently no formal process for parents to register the loss when a pregnancy ends before 24 weeks gestations. While some trusts have local arrangements, such as a book of remembrance or a certificate of loss, this is not consistent and is not available for the estimated 250,000 losses which take place outside medical settings. The introduction of pregnancy loss certificates in England will allow a non-statutory, voluntary scheme to enable parents who have experienced a pre-24 weeks pregnancy loss to record and receive a certificate to provide recognition of their baby’s potential life.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure everyone at risk of exposure to Monkeypox is able to access a vaccine.
Answered by Maggie Throup
On 21 June 2022 the UK Health Security Agency published a targeted vaccine strategy which recommends that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men at higher risk of exposure to monkeypox should be offered a smallpox vaccine. Vaccines are also offered to those most likely to be exposed to monkeypox, including healthcare workers and close contacts of infected persons. The local National Health Service will contact members of the public at risk of exposure to offer a vaccination in due course.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
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 adequacy of existing measures for preventing the monkeypox virus becoming endemic.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is working with the National Health Service and the public health agencies in each nation to prevent the onward transmission of the monkeypox virus. The public health response is kept under review to prevent the virus from becoming endemic.
Monkeypox is not a novel virus and the West African subtype which is currently present in the United Kingdom is less transmissible and largely contained within a single sub-population. We have sufficient testing capacity to meet demand and we are deploying vaccines and therapeutics which offer estimated high levels of protection against and treatment for monkeypox.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research projects his Department has funded into neuroleptic malignant syndrome since 2016.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There have been no research projects into neuroleptic malignant syndrome funded by the Department since 2016. The Department funds research into rare diseases through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR is the nation’s largest funder of health and care research, spending over £1 billion on research every year, with research proposals in all areas competing for the funding available. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made based on the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were diagnosed with neuroleptic malignant syndrome in each year from 2016 to 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This information is not held in the format requested.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department holds any list of patients who have been identified as immunocompromised and are eligible for new covid-19 treatments first announced in December 2021; and whether such a list includes the addresses of those patients.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department commissioned an independent expert group to identify clinically eligible patient cohorts most likely to progress towards developing severe COVID-19. These cohorts form part of an evidence-based clinical policy for the treatment of COVID-19, agreed by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers. The treatments available include the monoclonal antibody therapy sotrovimab, as well as the oral antiviral treatments molnupiravir and nirmatrelvir + ritonavir.
The Department does not hold a list of these patients, nor any identifiable personal information.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many covid-19 PCR tests the NHS has sent to patients in the E17 postcode area as part of the programme to identify positive cases among people at highest risk from covid-19.
Answered by Maggie Throup
As of 8 March 2022, 1,970 people in the E17 postcode were identified as at highest risk from COVID-19, based on the COVID-19 Treatment Methodology. As of 17 March, 2,315 priority polymerase chain reaction test kits have been sent to patients who may be suitable for COVID-19 treatments in this postcode. This includes replenishment kits sent automatically or ordered by the patient via 119. These figures have been rounded to the nearest five in accordance with disclosure rules.