Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination Programme

Lord Mott Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mott (Con)]

My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, in this important debate this evening. Summer is only just behind us, yet I have no doubt that minds of NHS leaders will already be turning to how to deal with winter pressures. The NHS has always faced challenges in winter but, before the pandemic, only around one in 500 patients waited for more than 12 hours for emergency admission during the winter peak. Since then, the numbers have already risen sharply, with January 2025 seeing a record high of more than one in 10 patients—11.21%—waiting for more than 12 hours.

Seasonal illnesses, of which RSV is one example, have played a significant role in increasing this strain. RSV accounts for over 33,000 children under five and 24,000 adults admitted to hospital each year. That is why I welcome the decision to launch a new vaccination programme against RSV—announced by the previous Conservative Government in June 2024 and supported by the current Government since—to protect mums, their infants and older adults.

I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, for securing this important debate today. It is hugely important, and her work has led me to take part in this debate this evening, because, for all the positives about the introduction of the new vaccination programme, we are seeing very substantial variations in take-up across different regions and ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. For example, as already mentioned, coverage in the east of England is almost 10% lower than in the south-east, and coverage in London is even lower. I hope that the Minister will be able to update the House on what is being done to address this.

More broadly, there continues to be misinformation about vaccines and their safety, not least with wild claims being made from some political parties about vaccines over the last few days, which I will not repeat here. I am a strong defender of free speech, but misleading people can be very dangerous, and we need to ensure people have access to credible information when making decisions about their own health. I also hope the Minister can update on what more can be done to ensure patients are receiving high-quality and factual information that addresses risks and benefits, so that we can see a wider take-up of not just the RSV vaccine but vaccine programmes more widely.

In closing, it is incumbent upon us to recognise that awareness is not a passive state but a catalyst for principled action. The recent rollout of the maternal RSV immunisation programme, while a welcome development, reveals concerning disparities in uptake. As of May 2025, only 42.8% of women giving birth in England had received the RSV vaccine prior to delivery, with regional variation, and with lower figures reported in Wales. These numbers underscore the urgent need to strengthen public engagement, improve access and ensure that every infant, regardless of geography or circumstance, is afforded equitable protection. I am certain that the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, will continue to scrutinise, to question and, above all, to advocate; she has a new voice to support her.