Why Dame June should stay on at the MHRA

Revolving doors are an easy way out.

In the summer of 2023, we expressed our doubts about the UK MHRA’s ability to carry out its role of pharmacovigilance in an impartial way. Specifically, the MHRA seemed unable to follow through with deaths reported following Covid immunisation (see Readings).

We wrote in a Mail Online article, “In September 2020, the MHRA signed a contract with a firm called Genpact (UK) for the extraction of data from the Yellow Card reports. Although heavily redacted, the statement of works is clear: “to extract ADR data from the Covid-19 related yellow cards…for selected data fields…”

The background to TTE’s observations was a reader’s complaint about the lack of follow-up on the death of her friend after exposure to a covid vaccine. 

In response to the complaint, the MHRA pleaded poverty in identifying deaths from reports and following up with an investigation of the cause. Apparently, they had received nearly half a million reports of all sorts of possible harm at the time. Although expected with th…