Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that future new treatments for COVID-19 for clinically vulnerable people are (1) evaluated, and (2) delivered, along the same timeline as vaccines; and which body will be responsible for that process once Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approval is granted.

Any vaccine for deployment in the United Kingdom must first go through rigorous testing and development processes to ensure they work effectively and are safe to use. These are set by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and have separate stages and timelines from the process for evaluating COVID-19 treatments.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) will make recommendations on the clinical and cost effectiveness of future licensed treatments through the established technology appraisal process. The National Health Service is legally required to fund treatments recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.