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 increase vaccination uptake rates among carers.

Unpaid carers who are in receipt of a carer’s allowance, or who are the main carer of an older or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill, are eligible for a free flu vaccine.

They can get their vaccine from their general practitioner (GP) or pharmacy. Every year the Chief Medical Officer writes to third sector organisations representing carers to ask them to encourage their members to get vaccinated.

Flu vaccination is also recommended for frontline social care workers to help protect staff and those that they care for. In addition to occupational health schemes in place locally, frontline social care workers who work directly with vulnerable clients are eligible to receive flu vaccine from their GP or pharmacy in a scheme funded by NHS England.

Public Health England monitors the vaccine uptake for the flu programme for carers.