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 potential implications for his Department’s policies of the recommendation from the French health authority that the RSV vaccine should be provided to (a) 75-80 and (b) over 80 year olds.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the United Kingdom’s expert committee that advises the government on immunisation programmes.

In line with JCVI advice, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme for adults turning 75 years old began on 1 September 2024 in England alongside a one-off catch-up programme to rapidly vaccinate all those already aged between 75 and 79 years old. The JCVI considered that there was less certainty about how well the vaccine works in people aged 80 years old and older, as there were not enough people of this age in the clinical trials to be able to see if the vaccines are protective in this age band.

Whilst the JCVI notes what takes place in other countries, its advice is specific to the UK. The JCVI continues to keep evidence under review, including data from clinical trials and real world evidence emerging from immunisation programmes in different countries.

The JCVI recently discussed the RSV programme at their committee meeting on 2nd October 2024. The minutes from this meeting are publicly available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation