Who is Sir Patrick Vallance and what is his role in government during coronavirus outbreak? – The Scottish Sun

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THE nation is clinging to every word uttered from the government regarding coronavirus in the hope that their suffering and fears will be eased.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now holding daily press conferences to keep the public updated on the latest surrounding COVID-19.

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And a regular face in front of the media at 10 Downing Street is Sir Patrick Vallance, helping to provide the current situation with the virus and what we can do to protect ourselves.

Sir Patrick Vallance was born March 17, 1960 - meaning he recently celebrated his 60th birthday.

He currently holds the Chief Scientific Adviser post for the government, having joined in March 2018 to lead the Government Office for Science.

Prior to working with the government, Vallance was head of research and development (R&D) at pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline.

He spent 12 years at GSK, working in a range of roles, having previously been a registrar at the Academy of Medical Sciences and a Professor at two schools.

The former professor was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours.

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Upon joining the government, Vallance took a personal interest in researching vascular biology.

This include looking into nitric oxide and endothelial cell, both of which affect the arteries.

And now he has stepped into help combat the growing spread of coronavirus.

Vallance is regularly seen alongside Boris Johnson at the press briefings with Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty.

However, it has not gone all smoothly for the Chief Scientific Adviser, with 541 scientists criticising his 'herd immunity' idea, whereby a high proportion of the population allow themselves to catch the virus in a bid to gain an immunity to it.

This was shut down over fears for the NHS, who are already struggling to meet the demands of an increase in sick patients.

Meanwhile, a paper released on March 16 from the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team showed that 250,000 more people would die if herd immunity continued.

Now, Vallance is expected to work in limiting the spread of the virus, while looking at finding a vaccine.

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Who is Sir Patrick Vallance and what is his role in government during coronavirus outbreak? - The Scottish Sun