TRAILBLAZER
Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam : the Lincolnshire lad who loves football , analogies and public health announcements
Name : Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam Job Title : England ' s deputy chief medical officer Company : UK Government
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said 60,000 deaths have been prevented in England as a result of the Covid vaccine programme
Prof Sir Jonathan Van-Tam recently announced that he will be leaving his role as England ' s deputy chief medical officer in March .
Born in Lincolnshire to a family of Vietnamese descent , Van-Tam was educated at the prestigious Boston Grammar School , before going on to study medicine at the University of Nottingham .
Over the past two years , Van-Tam has featured in public health announcements alongside Prime Minister Boris Johnson , guiding the UK through the pandemic witha series of colourful analogies .
VAN-TAM ’ S TOP ANALOGIES :
Comparing the pandemic to a ‘ hosepipe ’ In the pandemic ’ s early days , Van-Tam was asked about the delay between Covid infections and those seeking treatment in hospitals .
“ This whole concept is a bit like a hosepipe in your garden . When you turn that tap off , water still comes out of the hosepipe for a few seconds before it dies down . If everyone in a certain area turns on their sprinkler at the same time , pressure will go down .”
Vaccine development ‘ a train which has stopped in the station ’ In November 2020 , Brits were waiting anxiously to be called up for their first vaccine .
“ This to me is like a train journey , it ’ s wet , it ’ s windy , it ’ s horrible . Two miles down the tracks , two lights appear and it ’ s the train and it ’ s a long way off and we ’ re at that point at the moment . That ’ s the efficacy result .”
14 February 2022