Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports by researchers at the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Rome that they have developed a vaccine that can neutralise COVID-19 in human cells; and what plans they have to encourage scientists in the UK to be involved in the clinical trials of that vaccine .

As the Prime Minister has said, the hunt for a vaccine will be a truly global endeavour – no one country or company will be able to do this alone. The Government is closely monitoring the progress of vaccines being developed outside the United Kingdom, including at the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute in Rome. The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is at the early stages but progressing rapidly. We will continue to support the two leading UK academic groups at present and connect key companies in the vaccines landscape. We are also working with regulators to facilitate rapid but well-supervised clinical trials in the UK, building on the UK’s world-leading expertise in this area.