Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of current levels of covid-19 hospitalisations; and if he will make a statement.

No specific assessment has been made. The best defence against COVID-19 infection and the risk of hospitalisation is vaccination. In England, as of 10 April 2022, 85.5% of the population aged 12 years old and over has received two doses of vaccine and 72.3% of those aged over 18 years old have received a third primary dose or booster vaccination.

On 21 February, we accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on offering a further dose to some individuals in a spring COVID-19 vaccination programme. The primary aim is to reduce the risk of severe disease among those deemed most at-risk. A further dose is being offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in care homes for older adults and individuals aged 12 years old and over who are immunosuppressed.

For those who are not eligible for the vaccine, or who have been vaccinated but do not develop sufficient immunity, antiviral and other treatments are available. The Government has secured 4.98 million patient courses of oral antiviral treatments to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and the Omicron variant in the United Kingdom.