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Nadhim Zahawi, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, has been put in charge of overseeing the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine, Downing Street announced.
Number 10 said the Stratford-on-Avon MP would take office until at least next summer.
Zahari will temporarily relinquish responsibility for most areas of his tenure in the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis). Under the interim arrangement, he will serve as a deputy minister between Beis and the Department of Health and Social Assistance.
Hospitals have been told to prepare to launch a coronavirus vaccine in as little as nine days, and NHS workers are expected to be at the front of the line.
NHS chiefs said England’s hospitals could expect to receive their first deliveries of a vaccine produced by US drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech company BioNTech as early as December 7, with regulatory approval anticipated in a few days.
The UK has placed orders for 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, enough to vaccinate the majority of the population, and it is expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks if the vaccine is approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. (MHRA).
It also has orders for 40 million doses of the jab from Pfizer and BioNTech, which has been shown to have a 95% efficacy rate, and 5 million doses from the American firm Moderna, which according to tests is equally effective.
Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “Just a few days ago, the Labor Party called for a vaccine minister to oversee the enormous logistical challenge of widespread vaccination.
“Now we need a massive public health campaign urging adoption of the vaccine, as well as ensuring that resources are available for GPs and other health professionals to quickly implement it as soon as possible.”
Zahawi, a businessman and co-founder of the survey company YouGov, said this week that he was concerned that his Stratford-on-Avon constituency had been placed in the third tier of restrictions.
“I am very disappointed and saddened that Warwickshire is moving to level 3 next week, in particular for the effect this will have on our hospitality and tourism industries which have already been through so much this year,” he said according to local press. . “It appears that the high number of infections, especially among those over 60, and the hospitalizations in North County have worked against us.
“I understand the concerns expressed by a large number of constituents about why restrictions in Stratford-on-Avon are affected by factors in areas further away from us than our immediate neighbors, such as Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, who will move on the level 2 next week.
“Therefore, the entire county must work together to reduce infections so that we can track our neighboring counties down to level 2 when these restrictions are reviewed within fifteen days. I will do my best to push and make this happen. “
