Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many facilities producing (a) generic and (b) speciality antibiotics there are in the UK.
Answered by Will Quince
The information requested is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 (a) epidemiological data and (b) formula used by the Government to determine the designation of (a) Tanzania, (b) South Africa and (c) Malawi on the red list for mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival at the UK border; and if he will publish the (a) data and (b) formula used by the Government to determine the non-designation of (i) Kenya, (ii) Ethiopia and (iii) Nigeria on that list.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
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 (a) epidemiological data and (b) formula used by the Government to determine which countries are placed on the red list for mandatory hotel quarantine on arrival at the UK border.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the relative proportions of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, as a proportion of total vaccine supply, being distributed (a) to regions within England and (b) to the devolved nations, are the same.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The proportion of Pfizer-BioNTech to Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines may vary between sites/regions due to logistical imperatives such as storage and wider national supply.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how data on HIV is being taken into account in the new QCOVID population risk assessment tool following concerns raised by people living with HIV who have been asked to shield for the first time.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The COVID-19 population risk assessment, based on QCovid, uses a range of factors including age, sex registered at birth, ethnicity, postcode as an indicator of deprivation and body mass index alongside medical conditions to calculate a risk assessment score for each individual. Owing to small numbers, HIV has been included within the model in a broader group of conditions which includes other immunosuppressive disorders, such as sickle cell and immunodeficiency, to offer a representative level of potential risk. This is in keeping with emerging research evidence that suggests people living with HIV may be at increased risk from COVID-19.
If an individual living with HIV has received a letter advising them to shield, this will not be based solely on their HIV status, but on a wide range of factors. Any person living with HIV who is concerned can seek further advice from their general practitioner or specialist clinician.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how people living with HIV will access the covid-19 vaccine in their priority grouping if they have not disclosed their HIV status to their local GP but are known at their HIV clinic.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The new guidance means that people living with HIV in England can now choose to arrange their COVID-19 vaccine through specialist clinics, without notifying their general practitioner (GP).
We encourage everyone living with HIV to make their GP aware of their HIV diagnosis. Where that is not possible, HIV clinics should identify those who have not given permission to disclose their HIV status to their GP and refer individuals into local vaccination hubs.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what formula is being used for the allocation of covid-19 vaccine supplies to the devolved Administrations.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
To ensure vaccines are shared equitably across the United Kingdom, the Barnett formula is used to calculate vaccine supply allocations to the devolved Administrations.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what partnerships and support the Government is providing to genomic sequencing centres (a) in Africa and (b) globally to help identify variants of the covid-19 virus.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Public Health England’s (PHE’s) International Health Regulation (IHR) Strengthening Project and the United Kingdom Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) have provided genome sequencing support to Nigeria to independently sequence the virus. The IHR and UK-PHRST continue to provide support, remotely or through in person deployment, to a number of countries around the world.
In addition, PHE IHR and UK-PHRST are exploring opportunities to support Africa Centres for Disease Control’s sequencing strategies. PHE is also providing genome sequencing support to Gibraltar, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional cold chain storage refrigerators capable of safely storing the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been (a) ordered, (b) delivered and (c) deployed by the Government in each month since 1 September 2020.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
Public Health England (PHE) secured 58 ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers which provide sufficient storage for approximately five million doses of potential COVID-19 vaccines which require ULT storage. These ULT freezers were in place, commissioned and ready to receive vaccine prior to the commencement of the programme at the beginning of December 2020. The ULT freezers are for PHE to manage the national storage of COVID-19 vaccines which require storage at -70°C. The National Health Service has secured its own ULT freezers to support local storage.
PQ141991
Asked by: Stephen Doughty (Labour (Co-op) - Cardiff South and Penarth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases have been recorded in the UK of the variants of covid-19 that originated in (a) South Africa and (b) Brazil since 1 December 2020.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of 20 January 2021, there were 71 cases of the COVID-19 variant that originated in South Africa and 10 cases of the COVID-19 variant that originated in Brazil recorded in the United Kingdom.