The UK will offer its world-leading genomics expertise to
identify new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 to
countries who do not have the resources to do so.
The announcement comes as part of a speech the Health Secretary
will deliver at Chatham House. As part of the UK’s Presidency of
the G7 this year, the Health Secretary will outline his vision
for a stronger, more collaborative and effective global health
system, not just in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, but to ensure
the international community is better prepared for future
threats.
Countries will be offered UK capacity to analyse new strains of
the virus through the launch of the New Variant Assessment
Platform which will be led by Public Health England (PHE) working
with NHS Test and Trace and academic partners as well as the
World Health Organization’s SARS-CoV-2 Global Laboratory Working
Group. This supports the Prime Minister’s Five point plan, as
outlined at UNGA last year, to protect humanity from another
pandemic through a shared approach to global health security.
In due course, it will be led by the National Institute for
Health Protection (NIHP) and will involve PHE laboratories and
staff as well as academic partner capabilities.
They will be working directly on samples provided from abroad or
will provide expert advice and support remotely where the partner
country already has some capabilities in this area but requests
further assistance. The offer could include training and
resources as well as personnel and equipment.
Countries will be able to apply for assistance by contacting the
World Health Organization where an existing channel does not
already exist with the UK.
This vital work will combat the spread of coronavirus by
identifying more Covid-19 variants around the world to keep the
global community one step ahead of any mutations.
Health Secretary will say:
“This pandemic has shown that the foundations of so many of the
exciting experiences that make life worth living are contingent
not just on our health, or the health of our neighbours, but the
health of people we’ve never met. When one of us suffers, we all
suffer.
“So we must work to promote health security in every single part
of the world. Not only will this Platform help us better
understand this virus and how it spreads, but it will also boost
global capability in this important field, so we’re all better
prepared for whatever lies ahead”.
The UK has carried out more than half of all SARS-CoV-2 genome
sequences submitted to the global database, and this capability
helped PHE’s scientists identify the variant in Kent, informing
new measures to tackle the spread of the virus.
Dr Isabel Oliver, Director of Public Health England’s
National Infection Service, said:
“We know that the virus will evolve over time and certain
mutations could potentially cause the virus to spread faster,
make people sicker, or possibly affect how well vaccines work.
Genomic testing is crucial to our efforts to control the virus –
it allows us to keep an eye on how the virus is changing and to
respond before it’s too late.
“This new initiative will bring Public Health England’s cutting
edge science to countries that have little or no ability to
sequence and analyse COVID-19 virus strains themselves. It will
also give us crucial early warning of new variants emerging
around the world that might endanger the UK.”
As the UK holds the presidency of the G7, improving global health
security will be a key theme as we encourage countries to work
collaboratively both to tackle this pandemic and ensure stronger
preparedness for further health threats.
New variants of coronavirus can be threats to the progress made
so far with treatments and vaccines, so it is vital that the
global community is able to react to them quickly and decisively.
The UK’s genomic expertise will guide the global response to
controlling their spread and saving lives
