Former UK Medical Chief Jonathan Van-Tam Hired by COVID Vaccine Manufacturer Moderna

Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, speaks during a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street, in central London, on Dec. 2, 2020. John Sibley/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The UK’s former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Sir Jonathan Van-Tam has taken a part-time consulting role at the COVID-19 vaccine giant Moderna.

One of the key figures in the UK’s COVID-19 response, Sir Jonathan joined Moderna, which develops the mRNA vaccine Spikevax, three months ago as a senior medical consultant, it has emerged.

On Friday, the Financial Times reported that the move was shown in official filings. The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the filings, though they have been widely reported by British media.

The Epoch Times contacted Moderna for a response.

Moderna told the Financial Times that the appointment was in “accordance with the health department’s rules for officials” who take up jobs in the pharmacological industry.

Paul Burton, Moderna’s chief medical officer, said Sir Jonathan’s “significant experience and expertise as a specialist in influenza” will be a “vital asset” to the company, and that his part-time consulting role is for the whole global business, and not just focused on the UK.

Vaccine Taskforce

Sir Jonathan was a member of the UK’s Vaccine Taskforce, which was given an objective “to secure access to the most promising vaccine/s for the UK population as quickly as possible” in 2020.

“Decisions on all vaccine supply contracts and major investments in manufacturing and clinical opportunities” were taken by the relevant government ministers at the time.

He stepped down from his government role in March 2022 and subsequently was given a knighthood for his contribution.

Other prominent figures in the UK’s response to COVID-19 also previously received knighthoods and damehoods. Those include England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, UK Health Security Agency Chief Executive Dr. Jenny Harries, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Chief Executive Dr. June Raine.

Sir Jonathan was involved in the decision-making process for the UK government’s vaccine procurement, having secured access to 357 million doses of vaccines from seven different developers including Moderna in 2020.

In 2021 he praised Moderna for “another impressive success for science” when the MHRA approved its COVID-19 vaccine.

“The highly effective Moderna vaccine is another impressive success for science and is another testament to the hard work of researchers and selfless clinical trial volunteers,” he said.

“This vaccine will save lives once doses become available, but it is crucial we all continue to follow the rules to protect each other until enough people have been protected,” he added.

Last December, the government signed a 10-year partnership with Moderna to produce up to 250 million vaccines per year in the event of another pandemic.

When the UK offered 16- to 17-year-olds a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, Sir Jonathan said “that parents and children must decide for themselves.”

“We should allow them the time and the space and give them the highest quality information so they can make those decisions in their own time,” he said.

Conflicts of Interest

The government has rules for senior civil servants and ministers so that they declare potential conflicts of interest.

Under new rules implemented in July, senior civil servants will now need to confirm on an annual basis that their declarations of interest are up to date.

The government has said that it is committed to look to implement through secondary legislation a recommendations that consultant lobbyists declare the ultimate beneficiary and subject matter of their lobbying approaches.

A government spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email: “Professor Jonathan Van-Tam worked tirelessly to serve patients and the public through the pandemic.

“We recently strengthened the rules for senior civil servants moving from government to other roles and there are robust rules in place for senior civil servants and ministers to declare potential conflicts of interest.”

Lily Zhou contributed to this report.