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Chief Medical Officer recalled by Health and Social Care Committee on handling of the pandemic

16 July 2020

The Health and Social Care Committee will question Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty as part of the Committee's inquiry into the management of the first wave of Covid-19.

Witnesses

Tuesday 21 July - remote participation by witnesses and Committee members

At 9.30am

  • Professor Sir Paul Nurse, Director, The Crick Institute
  • Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar, Director, Wellcome Trust
  • Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Chair of Medicine, University of Oxford
  • Professor Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health, University of Edinburgh

At 10.30am

  • Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, UK Government's Chief Medical Adviser and Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and Social Care 
  • Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, Department of Health and Social Care
  • Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health and Social Care

Purpose of the session

The CMO last gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee on the UK's preparedness for a pandemic four months ago, before the coronavirus was classified as a pandemic.

This session will focus on testing strategy, the UK's high mortality rates and what happened in the care sector, as well as the role of scientific advice in government policy. Key lessons learnt and how they might apply to any future waves of the virus will also be examined. The Committee will explore what the future may hold in terms of treatments, vaccines and measures for future pandemics.

Further information

Image: Creative Commons