Putting our Motto into Action

QEH Alumnus and creator of Plague Inc, James Vaughan, has been living up to the QEH motto “While we have time, let us do good” by donating substantial funds to fight Covid-19.

Plague Inc is a popular mobile game, with 160 million players worldwide, based around the spreading of a plague. Ndemic Creations, of which James is founder and chief executive, donated $250,000 to the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the WHO’s Covid-19 response fund last year. CEPI has been closely involved in the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, providing the University of Oxford with catalytic funding to support the manufacture of vaccine materials required for pre-clinical and Phase I testing of their Covid-19 vaccine back in March 2020. In June this partnership was expanded to enable manufacture of the doses for distribution.

“Eight years ago, I never imagined the real world would come to resemble a game of Plague Inc or that so many players would be using Plague Inc to help them get through an actual pandemic,” said James Vaughan. “We have been proud to be able to help support the vital work of the WHO and CEPI as they worked towards finding a vaccine for Covid-19.”

Ndemic Creations have also now launched a new version of the game which sees players take control of pandemic response and cure development. This update was developed with help from the WHO, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network and many others and will be provided free for all players during the Covid-19 pandemic.

CEPI boss Richard Hatchett said the game could serve as vital education for people on how health emergencies such as a pandemic are handled.

“We are delighted that Ndemic Creations have taken the initiative to raise awareness of both the tools needed and the challenges that must be overcome to rapidly and effectively respond to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases.”

Well done James!