December 21, 2020

NERVTAG Q&A on the new variant

NERVTAG published a brief summary of NERVTAG opinion yesterday following their meeting on the SARS-CoV-2 variant under investigation, VUI-202012/01: https://khub.net/documents/135939561/338928724/SARS-CoV-2+variant+under+investigation%2C+meeting+minutes.pdf/962e866b-161f-2fd5-1030-32b6ab467896?t=1608491166921

We asked some scientists who sit on NERVTAG to sit on a panel and answer journalists’ questions about what we do and don’t know about the new variant and what their current assessment is of the science and the evidence.  Please note they did not have any new data to share – this briefing was simply for them to answer journalists’ questions.

Speakers included:

Prof Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health, University of Oxford, and Chair of NERVTAG

Prof Neil Ferguson, Director, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London, and NERVTAG member

Prof Wendy Barclay, Head of Department of Infectious Disease, and Action Medical Research Chair Virology, Imperial College London, and NERVTAG member

Dr Susan Hopkins, Senior Medical Advisor, PHE