Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will accept the recommendation of the Epilepsy Society to include epilepsy in the list of conditions eligible for a free flu vaccine.

Eligibility for influenza immunisation is based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI is an independent departmental expert committee and a statutory body, which advises the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

In 2011 the JCVI considered the inclusion of epilepsy within the clinical risk categories for influenza vaccination and agreed that most individuals with epilepsy have the disease well controlled. Therefore, influenza does not disproportionately impact those with epilepsy compared with the healthy population. Individuals with severe neurological disability are at greater risk from influenza and may also have epilepsy and this group should be offered vaccination according to published guidance which is available to view at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/influenza-the-green-book-chapter-19

Medical professionals are encouraged to consider individual patient circumstances and use clinical judgement to take into account the risk of influenza exacerbating any underlying disease or condition that any patient may have, as well as the risk of serious illness from influenza itself with vaccination offered in such cases.