Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a timeline for implementing the recommendations of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the (a) routine provision of MPOX vaccination and (b) targeted use of the meningococcal B vaccination for gonorrhoea prevention.

On 10 November 2023 the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) issued advice on creating targeted, routine vaccination programmes for the prevention of Mpox and gonorrhoea.

Officials across the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England are developing policy options based on the JCVI’s advice. A decision on the vaccination programme for the prevention of gonorrhoea will be taken following the outcome of this process. The policy position on the Mpox vaccination programme is being updated to reflect the emerging international concerns, and a decision on this is expected shortly.