Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the availability of the pneumoccal vaccine in (a) Ellesmere Port and Neston and (b) England.

There are two pneumococcal vaccines that are currently recommended for use, pneumococcal polysaccharide 23-valent vaccine (PPV23) and pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate 13-valent vaccine PCV13 (Prevenar 13).

We are aware that, due to high demand, supplies of pneumococcal vaccine PPV23 (Pneumovax 23) are limited across the country. We are working closely with suppliers and the healthcare system to ensure that patients with the greatest clinical need can access the vaccine. We are continuing to liaise with the supplier to support expedited future deliveries. Public Health England has issued comprehensive clinical guidance which provides information on management of potentially affected patients during this time. Practitioners have been advised to prioritise PPV23 vaccinations based on clinical risk and to plan vaccinations to ensure demand is more consistent across the year. Further, on 6 November 2019, all pneumococcal vaccines were added to the list of medicines that cannot be parallel exported, further protecting United Kingdom supplies and vaccine availability.

We are not aware of any issue affecting the supply PCV13.