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{{short description|British physician and epidemiologist (born 1966)}}{{About|the British physician and epidemiologist|the American speed skater and cyclist|Chris Witty}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

factoids

| image = S960 - Chris Whitty - Chief Scientific Adviser (3 by 4 crop).png| caption = Whitty in 2020| imagesize = | order1 = Chief Medical Officer (United Kingdom)>Chief Medical Officer for England| term_start1 = 2 October 2019Jonathan Van-Tam (until 2022)>Jenny Harries (until 2021)>Aidan Fowler}}| term_end1 = Sally Davies (doctor)>Dame Sally Davies| successor1 = Government Chief Scientific Adviser (United Kingdom)>Government Chief Scientific Adviser| termlabel2 = Acting| term_start2 = 18 September 2017| term_end2 = 4 April 2018| predecessor2 = Sir Mark Walport| successor2 = Sir Patrick Vallance196621|df=y}}| birth_place = Gloucester, England| death_date = | death_place = | awards = | spouse = University of OxfordLondon School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine>Northumbria UniversityHeriot-Watt University>The Open University}}| occupation = | profession = Physician and epidemiologistgov.uk/government/people/christopher-whitty}}}}Sir Christopher John MacRae Whitty {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|KCB|FRS}} (born 21 April 1966) is a British epidemiologist, serving as Chief Medical Officer for England and Chief Medical Adviser to the UK Government since 2019. Whitty was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care and Head of the National Institute for Health and Care Research from 2016 to 2021. He was also the Acting Government Chief Scientific Adviser from 2017 to 2018. He is emeritus Gresham Professor of Physic.Since March 2020, Whitty has played a key role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, alongside Government Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance. Whitty was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to public health.

Early life

Whitty was born in Gloucester on 21 April 1966, the first of four sons born to Kenneth and Susannah Whitty.WEB,weblink Christopher John Macrae WHITTY personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK, His father was a British Council officer, who was posted to various countries including Nigeria, where the family lived in Kaduna, and Malawi. While Deputy Director of the British Council in Athens, Kenneth Whitty was murdered by militants from the Abu Nidal Organisation,WEB, 2000-06-09, Diplomatic mission,weblink 2021-07-13, The Guardian, en, in 1984, when Whitty was 17. His mother was a teacher.MAGAZINE, Norton-Taylor, Richard, 9 June 2000, Diplomatic mission,weblink The Guardian, 17 March 2020, NEWS, Gunman Kills British Diplomat,weblink 17 March 2020, The Glasgow Herald, 29 March 1984, His maternal uncle Sir Christopher MacRae was also a diplomat,NEWS, Quiet family funeral for shot diplomat,weblink 3 January 2021, The Guardian, 7 April 1984, 2, and his grandmother Grace Summerhayes was a pioneering obstetrician in Africa, who helped set up the first maternity hospital in Ghana in 1928.NEWS, Sample, Ian, Stewart, Heather, 'A class act': Chris Whitty, the calm authority amid the Covid crisis,weblink 22 March 2021, The Guardian, 22 March 2021, His paternal grandfather John Whitty MC DSO was killed in World War II and his step grandfather was Sir George Coldstream.Whitty was sent back to the UK for his schooling,NEWS,weblink Chris Whitty, disease expert leading the UK's coronavirus response, Financial Times, 13 March 2020, 22 March 2020, Neville, Sarah, where he attended Windlesham House School in Pulborough, West Sussex, and Malvern College, Worcestershire. He then studied at Pembroke College, Oxford (BA in Physiology, DSc in medical science), Wolfson College, Oxford (BM BCh in Medicine, 1991, where he was also the founding chair of the National Postgraduate CommitteeWEB, Minutes of the meeting of the National Postgraduate Committee, 30 June 1990,weblink JISCmail, 1 September 2021, ), the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (DTM&H in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 1996; MSc in Epidemiology, 1996), Northumbria University (LLM in Medical Law, 2005), Heriot-Watt University (MBA in Business Administration, 2010), and The Open University (DipEcon in Economics).NEWS, Sample, Ian,weblink Prof Chris Whitty: the expert we need in the coronavirus crisis, 4 March 2020, The Guardian, 6 March 2020, O'Carroll, Lisa, en-GB, 0261-3077,

Career

Whitty is a practising National Health Service (NHS) consultant physician at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, and was Gresham Professor of Physic at Gresham College, a post dating back to 1597.WEB,weblink Whitty, Prof. Christopher John Macrae, 1 December 2018, Who's Who, en, 10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U250932, 978-0-19-954088-4, 6 March 2020, subscription, WEB,weblink Chief Medical Officer and DHSC Chief Scientific Adviser: Professor Chris Whitty, gov.uk, Department of Health and Social Care, 7 June 2019, WEB, Professor Chris Whitty,weblink live, 6 March 2020, Gresham College,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130924023346weblink">weblink 24 September 2013, Until becoming CMO he was Professor of Public and International Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) where he was also Director of the Malaria Centre and he remains a visiting professor there.WEB,weblink Public Health Matters: Chris Whitty, PHE, gov.uk, Public Health England, 7 June 2019, He worked as a physician and researcher into preventing or treating infectious diseases in the UK, Africa and Asia, especially malaria and other parasitic diseases but also other infections of resource-poor settings. In 2008 the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded the LSHTM £31 million for malaria research in Africa. At the time, Whitty was the principal investigator for the ACT Consortium, which conducted the research programme.WEB,weblink London School of Hygiene celebrates new $59 million Gates funding, 6 March 2008, EurekAlert!, en, 6 March 2020,

Government roles

(File:Admiralty Screen (411824876).jpg|thumb|The former Department for International Development (London office) (far right))From 2009 to 2015, Whitty was Chief Scientific Adviser and director of research for the Department for International Development (DFID).BOOK, Waldman, Thomas, Barakat, Sultan, Varisco, Andrea, Understanding Influence: The Use of Statebuilding Research in British Policy,weblink 2016, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon, 978-1-472-42757-1, 218, Annexe: Mapping research and policy, He led the Research and Evidence Division, which worked on health, agriculture, climate change, energy, infrastructure, economic and governance research. During this time, with co-authors Neil Ferguson and Jeremy Farrar, he wrote an article in Nature titled "Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission",JOURNAL, 10.1038/515192a, Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission, 2014, Whitty, Christopher J. M., Chris Whitty, Farrar, Jeremy, Jeremy Farrar, Ferguson, Neil, Neil Ferguson (epidemiologist), Edmunds, W. John, Piot, Peter, Leach, Melissa, Davies, Sally C., Nature, 515, 7526, 192–194, 25391946, 2014Natur.515..192W, free, explaining the UK government's response to Ebola in support of the government of Sierra Leone, which he took a leading role in designing, including the proposal to build and support centres where people could self-isolate voluntarily if they suspected that they could have the disease.WEB,weblink Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission {{!, Ebola Response Anthropology Platform|website=www.ebola-anthropology.net|access-date=10 March 2020}}From January 2016 to August 2021, Whitty was Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, responsible for the department's research and development work, including being Head of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).From 2017 to 2018, Whitty was also interim Government Chief Scientific Adviser and head of the science and engineering profession in government. During this period Novichok, the military nerve agent, was responsible for the 2018 Salisbury poisonings, and Whitty chaired the government SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group in Emergencies) and advised COBR for the crisis.Whitty was appointed Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England in 2019.

COVID-19 pandemic

{{See also|British government response to the COVID-19 pandemic}}Whitty and two of his deputies, Jenny Harries and Jonathan Van-Tam, took high-profile roles during the COVID-19 outbreak.NEWS, Meet Jenny Harries, the doctor talking sense in the coronavirus pandemic,weblinkweblink 10 January 2022, subscription, live, The Daily Telegraph, 23 March 2020, 29 March 2020, {{cbignore}}NEWS, Coronavirus: UK trialling existing and new medicines,weblink BBC News, 3 April 2020, 4 April 2020, This included appearing – often with prime minister Boris Johnson and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – in televised news conferences, and giving evidence to parliamentary bodies.NEWS,weblink Chris Whitty: The man with our lives in his hands, Pym, Hugh, BBC News, 17 March 2020, 18 March 2020, From 19 March, Whitty appeared in public information adverts on national television, explaining the government's social-distancing strategy to reduce the spread of the virus during the pandemic.NEWS,weblink Coronavirus: Government to air first TV adverts with advice for Britons, Sky News, Heffer, Greg, 18 March 2020, 18 March 2020, On 27 March, Whitty was reported to be self-isolating owing to symptoms consistent with COVID-19 after Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock had tested positive for the virus.NEWS, Coronavirus: Chief medical officer Chris Whitty self-isolates with symptoms,weblink Sky News, Sky, 27 March 2020, On 6 April, he had reportedly returned to work having recovered from the symptoms of the virus.NEWS,weblinkweblink 10 January 2022, subscription, live, The Daily Telegraph, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty returns to work after a week in self-isolation with coronavirus symptoms, Jones, Amy, 6 April 2020, {{cbignore}} In July, he told the Lords Science and Technology Committee that elimination of the disease in the UK would be very difficult, a view that was contested by other scientists including members of the Independent SAGE group.WEB, Devlin, Kate, 24 July 2020, Scientists hit out at Chris Whitty for claiming UK unlikely to eliminate coronavirus,weblink 17 December 2020, The Independent, en, At a televised briefing on 12 October where the Prime Minister introduced three tiers of localised restrictions, Whitty said he was "not confident" that the measures in the highest tier would be "enough to get on top of it".NEWS, 12 October 2020, Whitty 'not confident' new measures will be enough, en-GB, BBC News, Video extract,weblink 13 October 2020, WEB, Devlin, Kate, 12 October 2020, Chris Whitty 'not confident' that three-tier lockdown restrictions will work,weblink 13 October 2020, The Independent, en, Whitty and Vallance presented updated data and forecasts at a televised briefing on 31 October, where the Prime Minister announced stricter measures for the whole of England.WEB, 31 October 2020, Six graphs that led to the new Covid lockdown for England,weblink 4 November 2020, ITV News, en, During the outbreak, BBC health editor Hugh Pym called him "the official who will probably have the greatest impact on our everyday lives of any individual policymaker in modern times". The Guardian{{'}}s sketch writer, John Crace, described him as "the Geek-in-Chief, whom everyone now regards as the country's de facto prime minister". At the same time, he was compared to James Niven, the Scottish physician known for reducing the death rate of influenza during the 1918 flu pandemic in Manchester.NEWS, Pidd, Helen,weblink First 'Geek-in-Chief': shy Scot who paved way for Prof Chris Whitty, 27 March 2020, The Guardian, 3 April 2020, en-GB, 0261-3077, During the Christmas weekend of 2020, Whitty was spotted treating coronavirus patients in London. It was said he "worked the shifts in his capacity as a practising doctor [as] a consultant physician at University College London Hospitals Trust... on the north London hospital's respiratory ward over the weekend and bank holiday Monday".NEWS, 29 December 2020, England's top medic Chris Whitty treated Covid patients over Christmas weekend,weblink 5 January 2021, The Independent, en, On 26 June 2021 a group of COVID-19 protesters demonstrated outside what appeared to be Whitty's flat in central London.NEWS, 29 June 2021, Police investigating after Chris Whitty accosted in park, BBC News,weblink 30 June 2021, Earlier in the month Whitty was followed down a street by a prominent anti-vaccine activist who shouted at him for being a liar, and in February he was called a liar multiple times while waiting for a takeaway lunch at a street food stall.NEWS, Chris Whitty may get police protection as PM condemns 'despicable harassment',weblink The Guardian, Allegretti, Aubrey, Slawson, Nicola, 29 June 2021, On 27 June, Whitty was the subject of manhandling, described by Boris Johnson as "despicable harassment", by Lewis Hughes and Jonathan Chew in St James's Park, Westminster, who filmed the event for social media.NEWS, Boris Johnson condemns 'thugs' who harassed Chris Whitty in London park,weblink ITV News, 29 June 2021, The Health Secretary, Sajid Javid, said such behaviour would not be tolerated and that those responsible "should be ashamed". The Vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said they were "thugs" and should face charges. Hughes subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of beating and was given an eight-week suspended custodial sentence.NEWS, Prof Chris Whitty: Man sentenced for St James's Park assault, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 30 July 2021, 15 February 2024, He had previously apologised for any "upset" caused and had lost his job as an estate agent over the incident.NEWS, 2021-07-02, Man charged with common assault after Chris Whitty incident, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2021-07-02, In January 2022 Chew, who had initially pleaded not guilty, changed his plea and was given an eight-week custodial sentence.NEWS, Chris Whitty assault: Man jailed for eight weeks over attack, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 27 January 2022, 15 February 2024,

Awards and honours

Whitty was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 2015 New Year Honours for public and voluntary service to Tropical Medicine in the UK and Africa.WEB,weblink New Year's Honours lists 2015, 8 January 2015, Government of the United Kingdom: Cabinet Office and Foreign Office, PDF, 6 March 2020, He is a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.Public lectures outlining his views on tackling current challenges in medicine and public health include over 20 Gresham lectures on topics such as infectious diseases, public health, cancer, cardiovascular diseases; and the 2017 Harveian Oration and the Milroy Lecture at the Royal College of Physicians.In September 2021, Whitty was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Plymouth in recognition of his support for the university's medical science research community.WEB, 24 September 2021, Chris Whitty joins Plymouth grads as he's given Honorary Doctorate,weblink 3 January 2022, ITV News, Whitty was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to public health.{{London Gazette|issue=63571|supp=y|page=N3|date=1 January 2022}}NEWS, 2021-12-31, New Year Honours: Whitty, Van-Tam and Blair knighted, Lumley and Redgrave made dames, en-GB, BBC News,weblink 2021-12-31, WEB, 2021-12-31, New year honours feature Covid experts with Chris Whitty knighted,weblink 2022-01-06, the Guardian, en, He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2023.WEB, Chris Whitty,weblink 2023-05-24, royalsociety.org, In 2023 he was awarded the Royal Medal of the Royal Society.Royal Medal 2023

Selected publications

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• JOURNAL,weblink 10.1038/515192a, free, Infectious disease: Tough choices to reduce Ebola transmission, 2014, Whitty, Christopher J. M., Farrar, Jeremy, Ferguson, Neil, Edmunds, W. John, Piot, Peter, Leach, Melissa, Davies, Sally C., Nature, 515, 7526, 192–194, 25391946, 2014Natur.515..192W, 4470451,
• JOURNAL, 6297683, 2017, Whitty, C. J., Harveian Oration 2017: Triumphs and challenges in a world shaped by medicine, Clinical Medicine (journal), Clinical Medicine, 17, 6, 537–544, 10.7861/clinmedicine.17-6-537, free, 29196355,
• JOURNAL, 36755167, 2023, Lewis, A. C., Jenkins, D., Whitty CJM, Hidden harms of indoor air pollution - five steps to expose them, Nature, 614, 7947, 220–223, 10.1038/d41586-023-00287-8, 2023Natur.614..220L, 256667056, free,

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

• JOURNAL, Godlee, Fiona, Looi, Mun-Keat, The BMJ interview: Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, on covid-19, British Medical Journal, 4 November 2020, 371, m4235, 10.1136/bmj.m4235, 33148617,weblink en, 1756-1833, free,

External links

• Publications vie Google Scholar. CJM Whitty
• Whitty, Prof. Christopher John Macrae at Who's Who

| years = 2017–2018}}{{COVID-19 pandemic}}{{authority control}}