UK less prepared for pandemic than pre-Covid, former vaccine chief warns

Dr Clive Dix says all activities to prepare for next outbreak are ‘literally gone’ and vaccine manufacturers have been driven away

The UK is less prepared for a pandemic than it was before the Covid crisis after driving away jab manufacturers and relying on a narrow range of shots, according to the country’s former vaccine chief.

Dr Clive Dix, who chaired the UK’s vaccine taskforce, told MPs on Wednesday there had been “a complete demise” of work to ensure the UK was better equipped with vaccines for the next pandemic, noting that all the activities were “literally gone”.