Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to communicate changes to the Green Book on vaccination to clinicians to ensure that patients are offered the same standards of care across the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Each revision of the Green Book is promoted in the Vaccine Update (VU), a Public Health England (PHE) immunisation newsletter for health professionals and immunisation practitioners which is sent to health care professional subscribers at least once a month. Any updates are also shared with the National Immunisation Network of Screening and Immunisation professionals at their weekly meeting.
A function is available through the Green Book page on the website to send an email alert when the Green Book collection or chapter is updated.
The PHE immunisation guidance collection is published on gov.uk to provide information regarding the national immunisation programme and ensure patients are offered the same standards of care across the United Kingdom. This is available to read here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/immunisation.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of whether proposals regarding the preferred discount rates for costs and health effects used by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence should be included in the scope of his Department's consultations during its ongoing review into evaluation methods used to carry out technology appraisals.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is therefore responsible for its own methods and processes. The discount rates applied by NICE in its health technology assessments are specified in its methods guides. NICE, not the Department, will carry out three public consultations as part of its methods review. The most recent consultation being 6 November to 18 December on the case for change to its methods.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of protection conferred by pneumococcal vaccination in reducing deaths of people who have tested positive for covid-19 and (b) current level of take-up of pneumococcal vaccination among groups eligible for that vaccination; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for that vaccination during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There were large reductions in pneumococcal disease since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely because of the lockdown measures that were implemented nationally. Co-infections of SARS-CoV-2 and pneumococcal disease occur very rarely. The number of pneumococcal infections and more so deaths due to pneumococcal disease in people with COVID-19 has been low. As such, it is not possible to assess the effectiveness of protection conferred by pneumococcal vaccination in reducing deaths of people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
The most recently published pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) coverage data are for the year 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020. PPV coverage was 69.0% in all patients aged 65 years and over, immunised at any time up to 31 March 2020 in England, rising to 82.4% for those aged 75 years and over. The proportion immunised in the last 12 months for these two age groups was 3.8% and 1.4% respectively.
These data are available to view here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pneumococcal-polysaccharide-vaccine-ppv-vaccine-coverage-estimates
As the supply of the PPV23 vaccine is limited due to high demand, the Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation is not currently planning to undertake an assessment of the potential merits of extending eligibility for the vaccine. Public Health England has issued comprehensive clinical guidance on how to prioritise those who should receive this vaccine.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise clinical and public awareness of Kawasaki disease.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Recent studies have found links between COVID-19 and a ‘Kawasaki-like’ syndrome. NHS England has taken steps to work with experts to define what is now called ‘Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Disorder Temporally Related to Sars CoV2 infection (PIMS-TS)’. All paediatric units and intensive care units have been briefed.
The Government plans to publish a new United Kingdom Rare Diseases Framework by the end of 2020 to replace the current Strategy which will outline the key priorities for rare diseases in the UK over the next five years. One priority area, as identified through the ‘national conversation’ on rare diseases, is to further increase awareness of rare diseases amongst health professionals.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the number of patients receiving treatment for Kawasaki disease in (a) Wales and (b) the UK.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department only holds data for activity in England as health is a devolved matter. The Department, alongside NHS England, continues to consider the impact of COVID-19 on patients with Kawasaki disease and other rare diseases.
NHS England has had discussions with some services and patients/patient groups to understand the impact of COVID-19. NHS England has worked with commissioned providers, patient groups and charities throughout the pandemic to ensure that patients, carers and their families have been supported during the COVID-19 outbreak and ensuring those discussions inform planning for autumn and winter.
Asked by: James Davies (Conservative - Vale of Clwyd)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to ensure that children suffering from Kawasaki disease can access suitable treatment.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government recognises the importance of ensuring that rare disease patients, including those with Kawasaki disease have access to suitable treatment, and takes steps to improve access via implementation of the United Kingdom Strategy for Rare Diseases.
The Government plans to publish a new UK Rare Diseases Framework by the end of 2020 to replace the UK Rare Disease Strategy. One priority area, as identified through the ‘national conversation’ on rare diseases, is to improve access to specialist care.
Specialised commissioning within NHS England and NHS Improvement have ensured sufficient stock of intravenous immunoglobulin ahead of the second wave of COVID-19.