Why despite the success there are lessons to be learntpublished at 14:09 BST

14:09 BST

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, reporting from the inquiry

The Covid vaccination programme was unprecedented. Never before had vaccines been developed so quickly or rolled out so rapidly.

What would normally takes years in research and clinical trials, was done in months.

Once available, they were deployed at a pace never before seen – more than nine in 10 people aged over 12 were immunised within a year. It was, as the Covid inquiry said, an "extraordinary feat".

But the inquiry is about learning the lessons of the pandemic. And despite the success, there is plenty to ponder.

Vaccine hesitancy undermined rollout among certain groups, including some ethnic minority communities and those in deprived areas. That was predictable as there were signs of mistrust for other vaccines before the pandemic – what is more this continues today.

Tackling misinformation in a digital age is a huge challenge.

And while the government and authorities were praised for the work they did running pop-up vaccination clinics in partnership with community and religious groups, the attempt to force health and care staff to have the jab to be able to work arguably back-fired and further fuelled distrust.

Encouraging vaccination, explaining the benefits and the risks, while respecting people’s right to choose, is a fine balancing act. And what is done, even in the extreme situation of a fast-moving pandemic, can have a lasting impact.

We're ending our live coverage now but you can read more about the key takeaways from the Covid inquiry report's findings here.

With 132 million Covid jabs administered in 2021, the UK government's approach to the development and deployment of vaccines during the pandemic has been described as an "extraordinary feat" by inquiry chair Baroness Hallett.

Here's what we learnt in the latest report from the ongoing public Covid inquiry:

• The vaccine rollout was one of the "key successes" of the government's approach to the pandemic, the inquiry found
• In particular, the "huge collaborative effort", the "excellent" work of temporary taskforces, and the "at-risk" approach to funding which maximised the possibility of finding an effective vaccine and treatment options were all specifically praised
• Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett however stressed the need to maintain that capability moving forward
• Separately, she outlined a number of areas for improvement including concerning uptake within communities from deprived areas and certain ethnic minorities
• Although a degree of global vaccine scepticism was fuelled by online misinformation, in the UK there were specific issues with trust in authorities, she highlighted
• The government and health services must each work to rebuild trust and promote better understanding of vaccines generally
• And urgent reform is needed for a financial support scheme for those suffering long-term health issues as a result of the vaccine
• Meanwhile, campaign groups have also called for a long-term approach to ensure people are not left behind and that vulnerable groups are prioritised

Public service union Unison has criticised the policy, introduced in England during the pandemic, which made vaccines compulsory for care staff.

On 15 March 2022, the government lifted the regulations.

In a statement issued in response to today's report, general secretary Andrea Egan says such an approach was "never the right way" to address vaccine concerns.

“As the report says, making them compulsory didn’t command the support of the profession and likely contributed to vaccine hesitancy in some groups.

“Instead, ministers should have run targeted campaigns to reassure staff the vaccine was safe, amid the deluge of anti-vax nonsense."

Egan continues to say that such a method, instead of boosting take-up, risked care workers being fired or sacked therefore affecting staffing numbers at a point when the need for resources was so high.

"The eventual abandonment of mandatory injections suggests even Conservative ministers belatedly recognised the approach wasn’t working."

Image source, Getty Images

The National Pharmacy Association - who have given evidence multiple times during the inquiry - say today’s report suggests the government could do more to tackle “vaccine hesitancy”.

The association, which represents around 6,000 pharmacies in the UK, says that more people - especially in deprived areas - could have been helped if the government had turned to pharmacies earlier.

“The government could help tackle a wave of vaccine hesitancy that has surged after the pandemic by allowing pharmacies to roll out more vaccination services to patients, particularly in areas where uptake is lower,” the NPA says.

It urges the government to ensure there is a “strong pharmacy network to improve people’s health today”.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, reporting from the inquiry

The report covers issues to do with vaccine hesitancy in detail. It said this was a significant danger on the horizon before the pandemic - and continues to be today.

The UK had already lost its measles-free status when Covid hit because of low uptake of the MMR vaccine.

That is why the inquiry said it was predictable that there was likely to be lower uptake among some ethnic minority groups and poorer communities.

And while the inquiry praised the authorities for the work they did with community and religious groups, running pop-up vaccination clinics in non-traditional settings, it said high levels of distrust needs addressing.

And it said this stretched beyond heath care. Experiences of racism and discrimination across society as a whole contributed to vaccine hesitancy in some ethnic minority groups.

Experts' evidence to the inquiry suggested events such as the Windrush scandal and the Grenfell Tower fire disaster have created a perception that governments have not acted in the best interests of black communities, for example.

Ben Hatton
Live editor, reporting from the inquiry

Today's report - the fourth of 10 from the Covid inquiry - makes five key recommendations. Here's an overview:

• Establishing a pharmaceutical expert advisory panel to oversee the UK’s preparedness to develop, procure and manufacture pharmaceuticals
• Producing targeted vaccination strategies and communications in order to increase vaccine uptake and reduce inequalities
• Improving monitoring and evaluation of vaccine uptake and delivery
• Facilitating regulatory bodies’ access to healthcare records for post-authorisation safety monitoring of new vaccines and treatments
• Reforming the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme to increase the minimum payment to those injured by a vaccine and a fairer system for determining payment

Caroline Pover, the chair of trustees of the Covid Vaccine Family group, is now talking about the government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme - which the inquiry chair describes as not "sufficiently supportive".

She says that the group are "disappointed at the failure of the inquiry to recommend any kind of care pathway", such as a dedicated vaccine injury clinic, emergency funding for treatment, or an awareness campaign for adverse vaccine reactions.

"Until now, our experiences have been referred to as rare, short-lived," she says, and encourages those "suffering in silence" from vaccine side-effects to seek help.

Lara Wong, from Clinically Vulnerable Families, says Boris Johnson's promise at the time of the pandemic that those facing the highest risk would be protected "wasn't kept".

She says today's report recognises that the government should pay close attention to the needs of the clinically vulnerable and their ability to access vaccines in a safe environment.

Wong says the group is pleased the inquiry has recognised the difficulties in accessing anti-virals - which she says remain today.

It's been four years, four prime ministers and those at the highest risk "are still waiting for protection", she says, and calls for a meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

We're now hearing from James Telfer, a member of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK.

He says the inquiry shows that much of the progress made during the pandemic has been undermined, and that for the bereaved, vaccines came too late.

Telfer calls for a long-term plan and funding to ensure that "people are not left behind because of distrust, exclusion, or barriers to access".

He also says that more should be done to prevent the spread of "vaccine misinformation", adding: "The government must not turn its back on pandemic preparedness."

Concluding her statement, Hallett turns to other recommendations which she says "worked" during the pandemic.

These include rapid and co-ordinated funding for vaccine research, an "at risk" approach to procurement whereby a wide range of vaccine candidates are funded, and expedited regulatory approaches, she says.

She stresses the UK "must maintain the capability" that was in place in 2019 and 2020 to fight the next pandemic.

"We must not allow it to wither," she concludes.

Hallett says that a small number of people suffered harm from vaccines, and that sufficient supportive government schemes must be in place to help such people and their loved ones.

However, she says the government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was "not sufficiently supportive", and requires reform.

She then adds three further recommendations:

• Establishing a pharmaceutical expert advisory panel to oversee the UK's readiness for vaccines and therapeutics
• Producing targeted vaccination strategies and communications to increase uptake and reduce inequality
• Improving monitoring and evaluation of uptake and delivery to make sure that methods are effective

Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett says the majority of people took up the vaccines when offered.

But she references a low uptake in communities with higher deprivation and in some ethnic minority communities - with concerns largely centred on safety and possible side effects.

She says a lack of confidence in vaccinations was a "global issue" to some extent - citing false information spread online - but the UK saw a "lack of trust and confidence" in authorities which was a "significant contributing factor".

She says the government and health services must work to rebuild trust and promote better understanding of and confidence in vaccines.

Further, to strengthen the system safety checks, she recommends regulators should have access to up to date patient data from across the UK for quicker and more comprehensive monitoring of the effects of new vaccines and therapeutics on the population.

Hallett goes on to say it's "crucial" that the UK maintains its vaccines and therapeutics infrastructure, particularly because of the "unknown nature of the next pandemic".

She says the research and development of vaccines is one side of the story - but that investment in regulation, manufacturing, and distributing of vaccines is also important.

In terms of the vaccine rollout, she says that lessons can be learned. Hallett says the system depended on placing people into groups to prioritise those most at risk, like pregnant women or unpaid carers - but communications about eligibility caused some confusion.

Image source, UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Inquiry chair Baroness Hallett has begun delivering remarks following the publication of today's report.

She echoes one of the findings from the report that the development and distribution of Covid vaccines was one of the "success stories" of the pandemic.

She explains that the pandemic was caused by a new pathogen and therefore there were no vaccines or drug treatments available initially.

Sometimes, she continues, it can take 10 to 20 years for the discovery, development and approval of new vaccines - but within a year the UK had developed the AstraZeneca vaccine and approved access to two others.

Hallett says this depended on a "huge collaborative effort" between public and private sectors and academia - praising the "excellent" work of the UK's temporary taskforces, in particular the vaccine taskforce, and the willingness of the government to adopt an "at-risk approach" to funding vaccine development.

Jim Reed
Health reporter, reporting from the inquiry

Overall the report today describes the Covid vaccine rollout as a “success story” of the pandemic.

By one measure, those jabs saved 475,000 lives in England and Scotland, it says, with more than 90% of the UK population over 12-years-old receiving at least one dose.

It was the largest vaccination campaign in history - with 132 million jabs given across the four nations in 2021, an achievement which the inquiry says “showcased many of the best attributes of the UK’s health and scientific systems”.

The report does though say that take-up was lower in communities with high levels of deprivation and in certain ethnic minority groups, something it says “must be addressed before the next pandemic”.

The report also highlights the role of drugs used to treat Covid and in particular the RECOVERY trial, run by academics and doctors from Oxford University discovered that a cheap steroid, dexamethasone, could be used to treat some of the sickest Covid patients.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, reporting from the inquiry

Misinformation spread online about vaccines during the pandemic both damaged uptake of the Covid jab and has subsequently affected confidence more generally in childhood vaccines that have nothing to do with Covid, according to the inquiry.

But the report also questions whether the government went too far when it tried to force some key workers to get the jab.

In June 2021 the government announced care workers in England had to be vaccinated to work in care homes to try to boost uptake rates among staff.

Within months they said they would extend that to all health and care staff. But they scrapped that policy before it was introduced and revoked the mandate on care homes staff amid mounting evidence the jab’s ability to stop infections and therefore curtail spread of the virus was limited – instead its major benefit was protecting those vaccinated against serious illness.

Vaccine mandates are likely to have contributed to alienation and increased hesitancy, the inquiry warns.

Jim Reed
Health reporter, reporting from the inquiry

Long-term health problems caused by Covid vaccines were rare, the report says, but there was a small group for whom vaccines did cause serious injury or death.

More than 20,000 people who have made Covid-related claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, a form of financial support paid by the government, but only about 1% have resulted in payments - which are one-off tax-free awards of £120,000.

Today’s report calls for “urgent” reform of that scheme saying that it is “not sufficiently supportive”.

It says the current system, in which those affected must show they have been at least “60% disabled”, does not work effectively for Covid vaccines.

It says the payout, which has been capped at £120,000 since 2007, needs to rise “at least in line with inflation” with new levels put in place based on the level of injury suffered.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, reporting from the inquiry

The rollout of Covid vaccines – the largest immunisation programme in UK history - was an “extraordinary feat”, the Covid inquiry says.

It says the way the jabs were developed and deployed so quickly – 132 million jabs were given in 2021 - was one of the key successes of the pandemic along with the speed at which the UK identified which treatments worked best against the virus.

The positive headlines contrast with the first three reports that were highly critical of the government’s pandemic planning, decision-making and state of the NHS when the pandemic hit.

But this report does contain a number of criticisms.

It says the lower vaccine uptake in poorer communities and among some ethnic minority groups was predictable and could have been better mitigated - although it praises the way the Covid vaccine was delivered later in the pandemic via pop-up clinics and in partnership with community and religious groups.

The spread of false information online and lack of trust in authority combined with how quickly the vaccines had been developed were contributory factors – and communication about benefit and risk needs to be better in the future.

And the inquiry says more must be done to rebuild trust in vaccines more generally.

The inquiry also says the current vaccine damage payment scheme needs reform with higher minimum payments and a fairer system needed for assessing who qualifies in the rare cases of harm.

Nick Triggle
Health correspondent, reporting from the inquiry

Image source, PA Media

On 8 December 2020, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan received a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry. It was administered by Matron May Parsons and was the first Covid vaccination given outside of clinical trials.

It marked the start of what many argue was the most successful element of the government’s handling of the pandemic.

In the following 12 months nearly 120 million jabs were given as the two-dose immunisation programme was followed up with a programme of boosters.

Uptake was not even though. More deprived areas and ethnic minority groups were less likely to come forward.

But, overall, more than 90% of over 12s got at least one Covid vaccine as the UK benefited from its investment in vaccines during the research stages, its world-leading life sciences industry and a centrally-controlled health service that was able to co-ordinate the rollout.

The latest Covid inquiry report is being released at 12:00 - we'll bring you the key takeaways here. You'll also be able to watch inquiry chair Baroness Hallett discussing the findings at the top of this page from 12:05.

Jim Reed
Health reporter, reporting from the inquiry

Kerry Clarkson, 49, was admitted to hospital in April 2021 weeks after being given the Oxford AstraZeneca jab.

She was treated for a rare type of blood clot linked to the vaccine and says she still suffers from health problems including damaged lungs, joint pain and nerve damage, and can no longer work full time.

Clarkson is one of more than 20,000 people who have made Covid-related claims to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, a form of financial support paid by the government, but only about 1% have resulted in one-off tax-free payouts of £120,000.

In a letter this year she was told the effect on her health was below the 60% disability threshold needed to qualify.

The inquiry report today will look into the "adequacy of support" for those who, in rare cases, suffered serious harm after taking a Covid vaccine.

Clarkson and other families affected want an overhaul of the scheme which they say offers "too little, too late, and to too few” along with formal recognition by the authorities of the harm caused.