Independent report

Appendix A: examples of public letters and statements from UK CMOs

Updated 10 January 2023

© Crown copyright 2023

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/technical-report-on-the-covid-19-pandemic-in-the-uk/appendix-a-examples-of-public-letters-and-statements-from-uk-cmos

This is not an exhaustive list. It outlines some examples of public statements and letters to the professions from the UK CMOs as a group during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, there were:

  • statements from the UK CMOs on updates to alert levels which are available online
  • communications from individual CMOs and DCMOs
  • press briefings from UK CMOs, the GCSA and the Medical Director of the NHS[footnote 1]

Examples of joint letters from the UK CMOs (along with others) to the medical and public health profession

1. 11 March 2020: letter supporting doctors in the event of a COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

2. 3 April 2020: letter on novel coronavirus clinical trials.

3. 1 May 2020: letter to express gratitude for the efforts of medical and public health professionals across the NHS and public health.

4. 6 May 2020: letter on recruitment to clinical trials for COVID-19 therapeutics.

5. 11 November 2020: letter in support of doctors during the second COVID-19 wave.

6. 4 December 2020: letter outlining winter challenges ahead.

7. 31 December 2020: letter to the profession on COVID-19 vaccination programmes dosing schedules.

Examples of some key statements and public advice to ministers from the joint UK CMOs

8. 23 August 2020: statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on schools and childcare reopening.

9. 11 December 2020: UK Chief Medical Officers’ statement on the self-isolation period.

10. 30 December 2020: statement from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the prioritisation of first doses of COVID-19 vaccines.

11. 13 September 2021: letter from the UK Chief Medical Officers to the UK Health Ministers on COVID-19 vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds.

  1. See, for example, 19 June 2020: update from the UK Chief Medical Officers on the UK alert level ↩

Back to top