But UK played a leading role in saving lives

BRITAIN led the world on vaccine development and medical research throughout the pandemic – saving millions of lives globally, the report concluded.

MPs said the jab vaccine programme was ‘one of the most stunning scientific achievements in history’ and that it ‘redeemed’ many of the UK’s other policy failings.

They praised the ‘boldly planned and effectively executed’ project that meant Britain was the first Western country to roll out a vaccine against Covid-19.

The report said it was a ‘masterstroke’ to bring in Dame Kate Bingham, a venture capitalist, as head of the newly-established Vaccine Taskforce in May 2020.

It said the Government quickly ‘identified that a vaccine would be the route out of the pandemic’ and invested heavily in development, providing £20million to fully fund clinical trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

The report praised an ‘aggressive’ approach that meant the UK had secured agreements for more than 300million vaccine doses by November last year.

It said the UK’s medical regulator adopted an ‘agile and innovative’ approach of constantly reviewing trial data so vaccines could be deployed as soon as possible.

This meant Britain was the first Western country to approve a vaccine and, on December 8 last year, 91-year-old Margaret Keenan, from Coventry, became the first person in the world to receive a Covid-19 jab outside of a clinical trial.

The report concluded: ‘The UK vaccination programme – from discovery of potential vaccines against Covid-19 to the vaccination of nearly 80 per cent of the adult population by 1 September 2021 – has been one of the most successful and effective initiatives in the history of UK science and public administration.

‘Millions of lives will ultimately be saved as a result of the global vaccine effort, in which the UK has played a leading part.

‘In the UK alone, the successful deployment of effective vaccines has allowed, as at September 2021, a resumption of much of normal life, with incalculable benefits to people’s lives.’

The MPs also praise the ‘decisive and courageous’ decision taken by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to extend the gap between doses to 12 weeks.

This allowed the 15million most vulnerable adults to receive their first dose by February 15.

The NHS mass vaccine rollout was hugely successful and outshone the efforts of almost all other nations, the report said.

It also praised British scientists for ‘outperforming’ other countries in finding treatments for virus victims.

In particular, the RECOVERY trial, led by Oxford University, identified dexamethasone as the first effective treatment for Covid-19 – saving millions of lives around the world.

Meanwhile an antibody treatment developed by AstraZeneca has shown its ability to both prevent and treat Covid-19.

The firm submitted a request to the US Food and Drug Administration last week for emergency use authorisation for AZD7442.

Data released yesterday by AstraZeneca showed it was effective in preventing severe disease in non-hospitalised patients with mild to moderate coronavirus, when compared with a placebo.

Most of the 903 people in the study were at high risk of progression to severe Covid-19.

Hugh Montgomery, professor of intensive care medicine at University College London, and lead researcher on the trial, said AZD7442 could play an important role in the pandemic.

‘Incalculable benefits’