Professor Sir Andrew Pollard will step down as Chair of the Joint
Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on 30th
September 2025, after sitting on the committee for over a decade.
The JCVI is an independent
departmental expert committee which has worked for over
six decades to ensure that immunisation programmes in the UK are
both world-leading and a cost-effective use of public money —
optimising the protection of children and adults from serious
infections.
Sir Andrew was appointed Chair of the JCVI in 2013, having
previously served as a member of the JCVI's meningococcal
sub-committee. During his tenure, he has been instrumental in
advising governments on vaccination matters, serving not only as
Chair of the main JCVI committee, but also as Chair of the human
papillomavirus (HPV), influenza and respiratory syncytial virus
(RSV) sub-committees. Sir Andrew remains a valued expert on
vaccination and immunisation as Director of the Oxford
Vaccine Group, Ashall Professor of Infection and Immunity at the
University of Oxford, and a Paediatric Infectious Disease
Consultant at Oxford's Children's Hospital.
Following an open and competitive recruitment process, Professor
Wei Shen Lim, KBE will be appointed as the new Chair of the JCVI
from 1st October 2025. Professor Lim, KBE is a Consultant in
Respiratory Medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
and an Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine for The
University of Nottingham. He currently serves as the Deputy Chair
of the JCVI and Chair of the COVID-19 sub-committee.
Dr Thomas Waite, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England said:
I am deeply grateful for Sir Andrew's leadership of the JCVI over
the last 12 years. Over this time the JCVI has given advice to
support the introduction of vaccination programmes to protect the
public against a range of infections including meningococcal
disease and RSV. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Sir
Andrew for his dedication and expertise.
I am delighted to welcome Professor Lim, KBE as the new Chair of
the committee. Professor Lim served as Chair during the COVID-19
pandemic and ensured government received timely advice on the
roll out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme to protect the
health of the UK public. I very much look forward to continuing
to work with him as the new Chair.
