Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, one of the key faces of the government’s response to Covid, now works for US pharmaceutical giant Moderna.
England’s former deputy chief medical officer, who resigned in March 2022 as the pandemic era faded, joined the maker of the Covid vaccine in May as a senior medical consultant, according to official documents.
The part-time position is part of his “portfolio-based career”, which includes his position as a medical strategy adviser at the University of Nottingham.
Moderna said today that the appointment of JVT, as it is affectionately known, was “in accordance with England’s Department of Health and Social Care business appointment rules policy.” Her salary was not made public.
Sir Jonathan, knighted in last year’s New Year’s Honors list for services to public health, was a member of the vaccine task force during his time as deputy marketing director. His work was advertised for up to £149,000.
Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s former deputy chief medical officer, who stepped down in March 2022 as the pandemic era faded, joined the maker of the Covid vaccine in May as a senior medical consultant, according to official documents. The part-time position is part of his “portfolio-based career”, which includes his position as a medical strategy adviser at the University of Nottingham.
Moderna said today that the appointment of JVT, as it is affectionately known, was “in accordance with England’s Department of Health and Social Care business appointment rules policy.” Her salary was not made public.
This body made decisions on “all vaccine supply contracts and major investments in clinical and manufacturing opportunities.”
Britain bought 77 million Moderna vaccines, in two batches, during the pandemic, less than it bought from Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer shots.
According to the financial timesPublic filings show that the government has restricted Professor Van-Tam from lobbying the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or its executive agencies or participating in health ministry-related procurement tenders until after March 2024.
He is also prohibited from using inside information from his time in government to further commercial interests.
Sir Jonathan’s part-time consulting role is for the entire global business, not the UK focus.
But his new post follows controversy over previous ‘revolving door’ moves of government ministers and Civil Service officials to the private sector, the FT said.
Nearly a third of all new posts held by former ministers and senior officials had a significant overlap with their previous tenure, according to research earlier this year by civil society group Transparency International.
Rose Whiffen, a senior researcher at Transparency International UK, told the Financial Times: “Currently, there are only threadbare guarantees against abuse of the revolving door between the public and private sectors.”
It added that this created a “risk that inside information could be misused for commercial gain.”
Last December, the Government signed a 10-year agreement with Moderna to produce more than 250 million vaccines a year in the event of a pandemic.
It was revealed at the time that the investment would give NHS patients access to UK-made mRNA vaccines, while creating a new innovation and technology hub, with 150 highly-skilled jobs.
Called JVT by his colleagues, Sir Jonathan became a regular figure on TV screens during lockdown as he imparted his expertise during some of the daily coronavirus lectures.
The Boston United fan was famous for his memorable metaphors, like comparing Covid to a “goalie who can be beaten” and the vaccine rollout to the “glide path to land this plane.”
He sparked panic and concern across the UK in the early days of the Covid crisis, when he admitted the country might have to ‘live with’ the virus for years before a vaccine was found.
He also made headlines in December 2020 when he warned that Britons might be wearing face masks for years to come, even after a successful coronavirus vaccine became available.
Sir Jonathan, knighted in last year’s New Year’s Honors list for services to public health, was a member of the vaccine task force during his time as deputy marketing director. His work was advertised for up to £149,000. Pictured is Sir Jonathan being Knighted by the now Prince of Wales in June 2022
You are prohibited from using inside information from your time in government to further commercial interests. Sir Jonathan’s part-time consulting role is for the entire global business, not the UK focus. Pictured are Sir Paul Nurse, Companion of Honor (left), Professor Dame Jennifer Harries, Dame Commander of the British Empire (second left), Professor Kevin Fenton CBE (centre) and Professor Sir Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam , Knight Bachelor (right), with his honors in June 2022
JVT has also clashed with other scientists during the pandemic, including claiming the outbreak would be “much calmer” by Easter 2022, when others warned it could take years to become a manageable seasonal virus.
It was announced in January 2022 that he would step down as England’s deputy chief medical officer at the end of March.
He returned to the University of Nottingham, where he was previously a professor of health protection before being posted to the Department of Health in 2017, to join its executive team as Faculty Vice-Chancellor for Medicine and Health Sciences.
It comes as leading experts, including a member of No10’s vaccine advisory panel, argued yesterday that it would be a “good idea” to make Covid shots privately available.
Pharmaceutical companies are not prohibited from bringing Covid injections to the private market, according to the DHSC.
Darius Hughes, UK general manager of Moderna, confirmed that the company remains ‘open to exploring the possibility and feasibility of providing Covid vaccines to healthcare providers for private sales’.
It’s unclear how much private Covid punctures would cost. The Government paid around £20 per dose to Pfizer during the height of the pandemic.
But Moderna has already said it expects to quadruple its own price.
