Covid-19 delta variant: FOI release

Information requested

1. Could you please prove the delta variant of covid19 exists?

2. An isolated autopsie of the delta variant?

3. A laboratory isolated microscopic pictures of proof of the delta variant?

4. Policy of the nuremberg code for politicians in the Scottish Parliament?

Response

1. Throughout the epidemic, having a clear route for synthesising scientific evidence and presenting that to Government has been important. To do this, scientific advice is provided by the Scottish Government COVID-19 Advisory Group, details of which can be found here. The Scottish Government is also informed by SAGE, and its sub groups, details of which can be found here. The latest publicly available evidence from SAGE is here.

COVID-19 sequencing is vital in helping us identify new variants of SARS-CoV-2. Sequencing is currently undertaken in Scotland by the NHS Scotland SARS-CoV-2 Sequencing Service within the specialist virology laboratories in NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in partnership with the Centre for Viral Research for samples from NHS Scotland, and by the Wellcome Sanger Institute for samples in the UK Government lighthouse laboratories.

The COG-UK Mutation Explorer (COG-UK-ME) is an interface that provides access to data on SARSCoV-2 mutations and variants of interest in the COG-UK genome sequence data set, and provides diagrams of where the mutations are on the spike proteins for the different variants.

A repository containing the up-to-date genomic definitions for all variants of concern (VOC) and variants under investigation (VUI) as curated by Public Health England was created on 5 March 2021. The repository can be accessed on GitHub.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

2. Technical information on the Delta variant is available from UK Government website, where Public Health England (PHE) Technical Briefing documents and underlying data on novel SARS-CoV-2 variants are published. For your reference, information on the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), including the genomic profile, can be found from Technical Briefing 9 onwards.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you.

3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

4. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have asked for because the Scottish Parliament is a wholly separate public authority from the Scottish Government. Information on making an FOI request to the Scottish Parliament is available here: Requesting information | Scottish Parliament Website.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.