key: cord-0737088-ngbwmenm
authors: nan
title: Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam answers COVID-19 questions at QMUL webinar
date: 2022-01-28
journal: Br Dent J
DOI: 10.1038/s41415-022-3917-3
sha: 60ceffa33ab61d36dbadd720e98ff1c5d20d36d2
doc_id: 737088
cord_uid: ngbwmenm

nan

During the virtual session, Sir Jonathan addressed questions on the pandemic and vaccination strategy submitted by staff and students from Queen Mary Dental Institute and Barts Health NHS Trust staff. Questions touched on topics ranging from variants of interest to vaccine mandates for patient-facing healthcare workers and university staff.

He acknowledged that the emergence of the Omicron variant dealt a heavy blow to progress made during the pandemic. While the Omicron wave 'was still very active' , he was hopeful that in the next few weeks and months, things would start to look much better.

He highlighted the fundamental importance of COVID-19 vaccines in the response to the pandemic, particularly for health and social care workers. He emphasised that: 'If none of our doctors, nurses and dentists were vaccinated against COVID-19, our health service would have been in a terrible state dealing with Omicron right now' . His observations follow the mandated vaccine requirement for individuals involved in face-to-face patient care within a CQC-regulated activity in England, unless exempt.

Addressing the views of individuals who had experienced previous COVID infection and as a consequence expected it to confer full immunity and so do not require vaccination, he said: 'We are now pretty sure that natural immunity attained through infection with COVID-19 lasts a while but then declines, in the same way that immunity acquired through vaccination lasts a while then declines. The idea that once you've had it, you get better and that's it for life: I'm afraid it's not true' . He added that immunity from infection with previous strains of the virus or vaccination confers at best partial protection against Omicron, depending on how long ago that infection was. Sir Jonathan shared emerging data which suggests that individuals need to be exposed to the spike protein three, or possibly four, times through exposure to the virus or vaccination in order for people's immune system to manage COVID-19 effectively and so avoid serious infection and hospitalisation.

When questioned about the disparities in outcomes for different demographic groups, he acknowledged the highly complex nature of risk factors for adverse outcomes following COVID-19 infection.

Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam answers COVID-19 questions at QMUL webinar  There are clear differences in COVID-19-associated mortality, but it is not obvious at this stage whether genetic susceptibility plays a role to a greater or lesser extent. Risk factors are likely to be multifactorial. Sir Jonathan recognised that despite being more than two years into the pandemic, COVID-19 is still technically a 'very new infection' . Currently, we are only at the beginning of our journey into achieving a full understanding of the role that genes and other factors have in predisposing infected individuals to an adverse outcome.

In his closing comments, Sir Jonathan went on to thank staff and students for their contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic: 'I' d like to thank the staff involved in patient-facing care or support activities, whether that's been directly caring for patients with COVID, keeping the rest of the NHS going or taking part in the vaccination service. This has been a most incredibly difficult two years and almost certainly the biggest global public health challenge of our lifetimes.

'I appreciate everybody who has put their weight behind trying to get on top of this. ' Dr Sharan Sidhu, Clinical Governance Lead for Dentistry at Queen Mary and organiser of the event, said: 'We were delighted to have Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam for the opportunity to hear firsthand from a national expert on the pandemic, which has had such an incredible impact on all of us over the last couple of years.

'The webinar was a well-received and informative session delivered by a well-respected communicator and expert in the field. We wish him continuing success in his upcoming role as Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham. '  The British Dental Association (BDA) has an Honours and Awards process which recognises and celebrates those who go the extra mile for the profession and the Association. The BDA awards are of a high standard and are valued by those who receive them.

Please take time to consider someone you know who deserves recognition. All nominations should come with the support of a Branch, Section or Standing Committee of the BDA. Self-nomination is not permitted and only one nomination is accepted per person.

The closing date for nominations this year is 27 May 2022; the deadline for the Joy Harrild Award nominations is 29 April 2022.

Please visit the website at www.bda.org/about-the-bda/ honours-awards, where you will find all the information you need to complete a nomination form, as well as a list of the categories and past recipients.

Interviews with recent winners can also be read in the BDJ. 1,2,3

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