Lessons from the COVID-19 Vaccines Taskforce

OBJECTIVES: The Vaccines Task Force (VTF) was established by the UK government in April 2020, with the objective of securing early access to effective COVID-19 vaccines for the UK population and internationally. The VTF was successful in securing the earliest access to the Oxford/Astra Zeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, allowing the UK to be the first country in the world to deploy an approved COVID-19 vaccine. The VTF also played a critical role in supporting efforts to distribute vaccines globally, as one of COVAX’s earliest and largest donors. This research aims to present the perspectives of senior members of the VTF on the features of the task force model which enabled this success, and considers lessons for when and how a similar approach should be applied to other public health and public policy challenges.

METHODS: This research presents the findings of interviews with three senior members of the VTF: Ruth Todd, Program Director; Professor Jonathan Van-Tam MBE, Clinical and Public Health Adviser to VTF and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the DHSC during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Stuart Carroll, Senior Expert and Policy Strategy Adviser to VTF.

RESULTS: The members of the VTF identified a number of key features which drove the task force model: a clear and codified mission; a diverse and expert team; an agile approach embracing of risk; and empowering and empowered governance. Learnings about the applicability of the task force model to other public health and procurement contexts were also identified.

CONCLUSIONS: A number of factors contributed to the success of the Vaccines Taskforce, which could fruitfully be applied in other public health and procurement contexts.