The Sunday Times Magazine - UK (2021-12-26)

THE VOICE OF

CALM IN A STORM

J

onathan Van-Tam is fresh from his

morning gym session and still in his

sports top when he pops up in my

kitchen on my laptop in late

November, telling me how much he is

hoping to have some kind of a holiday in the

new year, preferably cliff walking in his

beloved Pembrokeshire. Little do we know

it, but hours after our video call reports of a

new Covid-19 “variant of concern” will land,

later to be named Omicron.

Oblivious to this, the England deputy

chief medical officer (DCMO) tells me he

predicts “much calmer waters” by spring,

with the proviso that Covid-19 is here to

stay and we are going to have to learn to live

with it. He cautions me that this winter

could be “bumpy” at times, but adds:

“There are certainly no obvious signs that

we are following Europe into an out-of-

control situation, but equally we are very

cautious about what the next few months

might bring and uncertain about whether

it will be plain sailing all the way through.”

The professor, one of England’s four

DCMOs under Professor Chris Whitty, is

already a hard man to pin down. But now

that Omicron has arrived, getting hold

of him again is nigh-on impossible — he

goes to ground, emerging only at a press

briefing to boost the booster programme

by slashing the gap between second and

third vaccinations. Nearly two weeks pass

before we catch up again, and I ask him

what happened next.

“An email informed me that Nervtag

[the government’s New and Emerging

Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group]

wished to hold a meeting on November 25

to discuss Omicron; then called B1.1.529,”

he says. “I thought, ‘Hmmm. Variants

happen all the time, but Nervtag obviously

feels this one needs some early discussion.

But there is a still a great deal we don’t

know; far more in fact than is known. Wait

and see what the data look like.”

Boris Johnson has since said we face an

Omicron “tidal wave”. Does this variant

change Van-Tam’s forecast of “calmer

waters” by spring? “It may alter that,” he

replies. “There is significant uncertainty.

Omicron could give us some real challenges

for the first few months of 2022.”

Van-Tam, or JVT as he’s usually known,

has emerged throughout this crisis as a

steady voice of reason. He was offered the

DCMO job in 2017 because of his expertise

in epidemiology and previous work as head

of the UK’s Pandemic Influenza Office. Now

a very different pandemic has thrust the

57- year-old into the spotlight. Covid-19 has

had a knack of turning scientists into

celebrities, but few have struck a chord

quite like the Boston United-loving professor

from Lincolnshire whose performances at

government press briefings have spawned

fan groups on social media and dozens of

T-shirts celebrating his cult appeal.

“I only trust Jonathan Van-Tam to tell it

like it is,” someone tweeted this month,

praising his ability to deliver updates in

straightforward, relatable terms, usually

involving a footballing metaphor. Fans

range from my own ten-year-old son, who

ran over to the TV to listen to one of the

professor’s recent footie-based

explanations, to the “Van-Tam Clan”, which

emerged on a Mumsnet thread about the

prof ’s sex appeal. His edict that Britons

shouldn’t “tear the pants off ” lockdown

easing last year prompted one mum to

admit she felt weak at the knees. Die-hard

enthusiasts can even proclaim themselves

members of the “Prof Jonathan Van-Tam

Appreciation Society” for the price of a

T-shirt. (Other designs are available.)

His celebrity status is set to be cemented

among a younger generation from Tuesday,

when he hosts a trio of prime-time evening

TV shows aimed at a teenage audience on

BBC4, presenting the Royal Institution’s

annual Christmas lectures, which this year

are about — what else? — viruses and how

Covid changed science for ever. He is the

first RI lecturer to hold a senior role in

government, which explains why four other

people have logged into our video call to

keep tabs on what’s being said — a record

for any interview I’ve d one.

He refuses to discuss what it’s been like

working with individual members

Jonathan Van-Tam has

become 2021’s unlikely

pandemic hero. On the

eve of his televised Royal

Institution Christmas

lectures about — what

else? — viruses, he tells

Susie Mesure what lies ahead

Below from left: Van-Tam at a No 10 Covid

briefing as a deputy chief medical officer;

a T-shirt and mugs made in tribute to him

PAUL WILKINSON, AP

The Sunday Times Magazine • 7