Prof Jonathan Van-Tam misses knighthood ceremony after catching Covid

England’s former deputy chief medical officer and advocate of vaccination forced to self-isolate

Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam has gained public affection for his use of analogies to explain coronavirus (PA) (PA Wire)

England’s former deputy chief medical officer Sir Jonathan Van-Tam missed his knighthood ceremony because he caught Covid.

Prof Van-Tam, who was knighted in the New Year honours for his work during the pandemic, has been self-isolating.

He had been due to be invested on Tuesday but was forced to stay away after being diagnosed with the virus last week.

The professor, one of the most vocal proponents of having vaccinations against coronavirus, known for his football analogies, was seconded to the Department of Health and Social Care from the University of Nottingham in 2017.

He announced in January he was stepping down as deputy chief medical officer and returning to the university to become pro-vice chancellor at its faculty of medicine and health sciences.

The university said he had almost fully recovered now, and the investiture would be rescheduled.

“Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam was diagnosed with Covid-19 infection early last week. He is fully vaccinated, is continuing to work whilst isolating at home and is almost completely recovered,” said a spokeswoman.

“He is very disappointed not to have attended his investiture yesterday  as was planned. However, it will be rescheduled and he is very much looking forward to receiving his knighthood for services to public health.

“This is a timely reminder that no matter how vigilant we remain, the risk of infection from Covid-19 remains present and can affect anyone. We should all continue to take reasonable steps to protect ourselves including getting fully vaccinated.”

When he stepped down, he said his time as deputy chief medical officer had been “the most challenging” of his career, but added it was the “greatest privilege” to serve the country.