Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2023 to Question 395 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, what steps she is taking to implement the advice of the JCVI on the rollout of the autumn 2023 booster programme to people who are immunocompromised.

As recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the autumn 2023 COVID-19 vaccination programme includes all those aged between six months and 64 years old in a clinical risk group, as defined in tables 3 and 4 of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book. This includes those with immunosuppression.

We continue to work with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to improve immunosuppressed uptake nationally, by understanding drivers of hesitancy, improving the quality of our published data, ensuring it is easy and convenient book and access vaccinations, and by continuing a variety of campaign activities throughout the winter including UKHSA’s ‘get winter strong’ campaign. This was launched on 1 November 2023 and encourages those eligible, specifically the clinically most vulnerable, who have not yet come forward for the flu and COVID-19 vaccines to do so.

NHS England has produced and shared a range of targeted communications materials encouraging people who are immunosuppressed to take up their offer of a COVID-19 booster vaccine, including posters, display screen visuals and social media cards. There are also materials to raise awareness that those who are a household contact of an immunosuppressed person are also eligible for vaccination. These materials have been translated into 28 languages to reach people from a wide range of communities through their native languages and have helped general practices, vaccination centres, pharmacies, and other sites to promote COVID-19 and flu vaccination this autumn/winter.

The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, also wrote to the main charities representing the clinically most vulnerable patient cohorts, to publicise this autumn’s campaign, and to enable them to signpost the offer to their patient communities.

The autumn campaign remains open and all those who are eligible but who have not yet come forward are encouraged to take up their vaccination.