April 29, 2021 11.20 am This story is over 35 months old

Boston’s Jonathan Van Tam gives health secretary first jab

JVT in national news again
Health secretary Matt Hancock tweeted a photo of himself being given the coronavirus vaccine by Boston's Jonathan Van Tam. | Image: @MattHancock

Boston’s own Jonathan Van Tam was the one to give health secretary Matt Hancock his first dose of coronavirus vaccine on Thursday.

Mr Hancock tweeted an image of him and England’s deputy chief medical officer “JVT” at the Science Museum.

In a post on Twitter, he said: “Brilliant! Got the jab. In & out in 8 minutes. Didn’t hurt at all.

“Massive thanks to JVT & the @sciencemuseum team. When you get the call, get the jab!”

During a press conference on Wednesday, the 42-year-old had said he was “delighted” to have received the call-up and that he was “looking forward to it”.

The Lincolnite’s Person of the Year, Professor Van Tam has reportedly been busy recently helping to vaccinate his home-town residents.

Nearly 34million people have now had their first dose of vaccine.

Over the past year, he has become known for his colourful metaphors and straight forward nature when delivering the latest news about the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Van Tam, of Vietnamese descent, grew up in the Lincolnshire town and attended Boston Grammar School where his father was a teacher.

He graduated from the University of Nottingham in 1987 and has since had an illustrious career in public health and medicine, including returning to the university as a Clinical Senior Lecturer in 1997 and as a Clinical Professor of Health Protection in 2007.

His roles have also included Consultant Epidemiologist and Head of the Pandemic Influenza Office at the UK Health Protection Agency in 2004 and chairman of the UK New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threat Advisory Group (NERVTAG) from 2014 to 2017.

He has also at several points advised the World Health Organisation and the UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

Mr Van Tam is also a dedicated supporter and season ticket holder of his home-town team Boston United, perhaps where he gets his football analogies from.