Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention
Nicola Blackwood lost her seat in the snap 2017 general election and was replaced as a minister by Steve Brine.During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the minister was placed in charge of public health policy.[1] The office of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment was created later and was held by Nadhim Zahawi from 28 November 2020 to 15 September 2021.[2] Zahawi was briefly shadowed by Neale Hanvey of the Scottish National Party (SNP) but Hanvey had to resign following his support for a defamation case against a parliamentary colleague, Kirsty Blackman.[4] In the 2021 British cabinet reshuffle, responsibilities for vaccines were merged with those for public health and given to Maggie Throup in the office of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health.