England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam has opened up about the nickname used in Government TV briefings and whether he has a tattoo.
The expert has become a familiar figure in millions of households around the country thanks to his pithy analysis and colourful analogies when explaining the Covid pandemic during Number Ten press conferences alongside government ministers.
Good Morning Britain presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid quizzed him on the nickname used in the national televised briefings.
Appearing on the ITV programme this morning he said he does not mind being called JVT by Government ministers.
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He told Good Morning Britain: “I don’t mind… in actual fact, behind the scenes, everyone calls me JVT. It is just what I’m known as within the whole Government ecosystem, but really going years before that, that’s kind of professionally how I’ve been referred to, and it’s absolutely fine.”
He also revealed he was ready to answer questions about whether he has a tattoo - saying he was ready for a curveball when he appeared on GMB.
He told presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: “I’m primed for this because I think you’re very clever. I get up at seven o’clock and see what mood you two are in and see how much of a bashing I’m going to get at eight o’clock.
“Seriously, on tattoos, the subject does come up quite regularly in the Van-Tam household.
“But it’s about whether, when the moment is right, when all this pressure is finished and maybe I’m in a quieter phase of my career, I’ll have a little left deltoid BUFC (for Boston United Football Club).”
Professor Van-Tam appeared on the programme to talk about vaccines, saying there was good evidence they worked against the dominant strains in the UK, including the Kent strain. But he added there was not yet direct data showing they worked against the (South) Africa or Brazil variants.
“But I still think they’re going to reduce the likelihood of having severe disease," he added.
He also offered advice on the vaccine for pregnant women and dismissed fake rumours about fertility and the vaccine as nonsense.
