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 effect on public health of changing the dosing schedule for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine from three to two doses.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that a two-dose schedule for the infant pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevenar13 is appropriate for the United Kingdom.

The JCVI’s advice was given full consideration, taking into account the potential public health implications, such as impact on cases of pneumococcal disease, before a decision was made to implement it. The decision is based on the effectiveness of the vaccine and years of high uptake, which has helped to provide protection to the rest of the population and has successfully controlled many types of pneumococcal disease in this country.

The evidence shows that two doses will sustain the excellent results we have already seen. We are confident that the world-class disease surveillance system we have in this country means our expert committee can closely monitor the impact of this change.