Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the announcement on 12 August 2022 that Government will not be procuring any doses of Evusheld at this time, if he will provide a full list of the experts who were consulted in the process of making this decision.

The decision not to procure Evusheld at this present time for prevention through emergency routes is based on independent clinical advice by the multi-agency RAPID C-19 and a national expert policy working group. The decision is based on a range of evidence, including clinical trial data, in vitro analysis and emerging observational studies, including the study published on 29 July 2022. These groups concluded that there is currently insufficient evidence of benefit against Omicron variants to recommend deployment. The Chief Medical Officer for England is content that the correct process for providing clinical advice has been followed and it should now be referred to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence for further evaluation. The Department intends to publish further details of the clinical advice received shortly.