The government must urgently rebuild the public’s trust in vaccines and counter misinformation online ahead of another pandemic, the Covid-19 Inquiry has warned.
In its fourth report, published on Thursday, the inquiry found that a lack of trust in the government and health systems “underlaid susceptibility to false information” about Covid vaccines.
It also concluded that mandatory vaccines for care workers were a “political” decision that was “not led by clinical advice”.
Inquiry chair Heather Hallett said: “Action is needed in all four nations to build trust within communities with lower vaccine uptake and to make vaccines more accessible to them, before the next pandemic hits.”
But overall, the rollout was hailed as a “success story”, with the fast development of the vaccine not compromising the UK’s rigorous safety standards.
It comes as a YouGov poll revealed that 69 per cent of NHS workers believe the health service is poorly prepared for another pandemic.
Key Points
- Support scheme for those left injured by Covid-19 vaccine requires ‘urgent reform’, inquiry finds
- Latest Covid inquiry report released
- How was the Covid-19 vaccine rolled out in the UK?
- What can be expected from today's report?
Learning lessons from Covid-19 important for other vital children’s vaccines
12:10 , Harriette BoucherCovid-19 misinformation lessons are important as uptake among children's vaccines has fallen, writes Health Editor Rebecca Thomas:
The Covid-19 inquiry has warned the government will have to regain public trust over vaccines and must take action over vaccine misinformation.
Their warning comes after multiple disease outbreaks since the pandemic due to declining vaccine uptake, such as the one in Enfield earlier this year, which has some of the lowest MMR vaccine uptake rates in the country.
The UK officially lost its measles elimination status this year following multiple outbreaks of the virus, which has been linked to the death of a child last January.
Vaccine uptake across all childhood jabs has also declined since the pandemic, and the UK is now missing targets for 95 per cent uptake among all of these vaccines.
During the pandemic, a major inequality was highlighted in the uptake of vaccines among ethnic minority groups and those in more deprived populations, which is mirrored in the MMR vaccine uptake.
Misinformation over vaccines has become increasingly common, with high-profile figures and politicians accused of spreading misinformation.
However, misinformation is a driver in the UK, experts have said, the declining uptake of vaccines also points to structural issues, awareness, and a lack of access to information directly from clinicians.
Risks of covid vaccine was 'carefully managed'
12:07 , Harriette BoucherInquiry chair Heather Hallett said that although some people were harmed by vaccines, the UK had effective systems in place to assess the safety and efficacy of the jabs during the pandemic.
“These included rigorous trials and regulatory approval processes and the taking of prompt action when any problem was identified,” she said.
Some 475,000 lives had been saved by jabs in England and Scotland by March 2023.
“On any objective analysis, the risks of the Covid-19 vaccines were carefully managed and were far outweighed by the benefits,” she added.
Mandatory vaccine decisions were ‘political and not led by clinical advice’
12:04 , Harriette BoucherPolitical reporter Athena Stavrou reports:
The decision to enforce mandatory Covid-19 vaccination for care home staff in England was “political and not led by clinical advice”, an inquiry has found.
The latest report in the Covid-19 inquiry discussed the country’s rollout of vaccines, including the impact of a mandatory vaccination policy in some areas of the healthcare system.
The policy came into force for care home staff in England in 2021, and was due to be introduced for frontline NHS and wider social care staff in regulated settings from April 1.
However, it was scrapped due to concerns it would push some of the workforce out of the NHS.
On Thursday, a crucial report stated that the discussion about whether to introduce vaccination as a condition of deployment were “political decisions which were not led by clinical advice”.
It also found that the policy did not receive widespread support fro professionals in England, and “is likely to have contributed to alienation and increased vaccine hesitancy in some groups”.
‘Incredible feat’ of covid vaccine programme largely a ‘success story’, inquiry finds
12:01 , Harriette BoucherPolitical reporter Athena Stavrou reports:
The UK’s rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine was overall a “great success”, the latest inquiry report has concluded.
Inquiry chair Heather Hallett hailed the scheme as an “extraordinary feat”, which saw effective jabs developed, produced and delivered to the majority of the population in “record time”.
“Overall, the programmes were a great success,” Lady Hallet wrote in the report’s introduction.
“The success was due to the UK’s position as a world leader in biomedical science, with talented teams of doctors, scientists and researchers supported by the UK’s academic institutions, to the skills of those involved in managing the programmes and to the fact that the UK government took an at-risk approach to funding.”
She added: “All those involved deserve great credit.”
Support scheme for those left injured by Covid-19 vaccine requires ‘urgent reform’, inquiry finds
12:00 , Harriette BoucherThe Independent’s political reporter Athena Stavrou reports:
The payment scheme for those left injured by the Covid-19 vaccine is in need of “urgent reform”, a crucial report has found.
The latest report from the UK’s covid-19 inquiry has acknowledged that while the vaccine rollout was largely a “success story”, the current support available to those injured by the vaccine is “not sufficiently supportive”.
As of January 2025, only 9,545 of the 17,519 applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme for issues related to the Covid vaccine had been notified of an outcome.
This has left almost 8,000 applicants without a decision, with over 1,000 waiting for over a year, and 126 more than two years.
In its conclusion, the inquiry found the current maximum payout of £120,000 from the scheme, which was last reviewed in 2007, is too low and should be increased in line with inflation to at least £200,000.
“When governments ask people to be vaccinated in part to protect others, there must be appropriate financial support for those rare cases of people suffering side effects,” Inquiry chair Heather Hallett said.
“The current system of payment for those injured as a result of having a Covid-19 vaccine requires reform.”
Breaking: Latest Covid inquiry report released
12:00 , Harriette BoucherThe latest Covid inquiry report has been released.
It has warned the government that it must take action to rebuild the public’s trust in vaccines ahead of the next pandemic.
Bereaved families say loved ones “would still be alive today” as they condemn Boris Johnson over Covid inquiry
11:44 , Harriette BoucherWhat did the last Covid inquiry find?
11:30 , Harriette BoucherThe Covid inquiry published its third report last month, which concluded that the UK’s healthcare systems “came close to collapse”.
The report examined the impact of Covid on healthcare systems across the UK and investigated “how governments and society responded to the pandemic, the capacity of healthcare systems to adapt and the impact on patients, their loved ones and healthcare workers.”
It found “that the UK entered the pandemic ill-prepared. Healthcare systems were already overstretched and in a precarious state. This fragility had profound consequences once the crisis hit, especially when the numbers of people seeking treatment for Covid-19 started to increase dramatically.
“Healthcare systems were overwhelmed and came close to collapse. Despite the best efforts of healthcare workers, many Covid patients did not receive the care they would otherwise receive and non Covid patients had their diagnoses and treatment delayed. For some this meant their condition became inoperable. Healthcare workers put their lives at risk and the pandemic had a significant and long-lasting impact on their mental health and wellbeing.”
What can be expected from today's report?
11:24 , Harriette BoucherThe inquiry’s fourth report is set to make a series of recommendations about the development of the Covid vaccines and its rollout in the UK.
It will also examine the treatment of Covid-19 through both existing and new medications.
One of the issues to be highlighted in the report will include unequal uptake of the vaccine and the government’s response.
Victims of Covid vaccine-related harm demand more compensation
11:08 , Harriette BoucherBaroness Heather Hallett, who chairs the inquiry, is set to address the groups representing people who were affected by Covid vaccine-related deaths or harm on Thursday.
Lawyers representing the groups have called for improvements to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, which sees people vaccinated in the UK awarded £120,000 if they have been harmed as a result.
Sarah Moore, who is representing 48 claimants, said: “The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, in its current form, fails to provide timely or adequate support to those who have been seriously injured or bereaved due to vaccine side effects.”
Solicitor Terry Wilcox from Hudgell Solicitors, which represents a number of vaccine injured groups, said people who have been harmed or died “deserve acknowledgment of the impact on their lives, which for many has been life-changing illness and loss of loved ones, and changes made to ensure they are properly supported, and that lessons are learned for the future”.
Hunt apologises for pandemic failings in wake of Covid inquiry report
10:52 , Harriette Boucher‘We need leaders to lead’: Readers have their say on the UK’s delayed Covid pandemic response
10:36 , Harriette BoucherThe Independent community largely agreed with the Covid inquiry findings that Boris Johnson’s government was chaotic and poorly prepared, though many also stressed the broader context of conflicting scientific advice, years of underfunding, and systemic failings that compounded the crisis:
‘We need leaders to lead’: Readers on UK’s delayed Covid response
In pictures: Britons receiving Covid jabs amid global pandemic
10:28 , Harriette Boucher
How was the Covid-19 vaccine rolled out in the UK?
10:18 , Harriette BoucherIn early 2020, scientists across the world were desperately searching for a new drug or treatment for Covid as the virus continued to spread.
The government deployed a Vaccine Task Force in the UK to find the most promising vaccines and pre-order them for speedy deployment once approved by regulators.
In November that year, Pfizer/BioNTech announced that its Covid-19 vaccine was both safe and effective, with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine also announced to be effective just days later.
Grandmother Margaret Keenan, then 90, became the first person in the world to be given a Covid-19 jab outside of a clinical trial when she received the Pfizer vaccine in Coventry.
The NHS began rapidly administering vaccines, prioritising the most vulnerable in society.
Thousands of vaccination sites were set up across the UK including in football stadiums, shopping malls and cathedrals. Clinics operated 24 hours a day to get people vaccinated as quickly as possible.
More than 184 million Covid vaccinations have been administered in England, according to the NHS.
Covid inquiry to release fourth report at midday
09:48 , Harriette BoucherThe UK Covid-19 Public Inquiry is releasing its fourth report at midday, which will examine vaccines and drugs during the crisis.
It will make a series of recommendations about the development of Covid vaccines and its rollout. It will also examine the treatment of Covid through existing and new medications.
The report is expected to discuss the unequal uptake of the vaccine and the government’s response.
