Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what professional advice he has received on the extent to which vaccination against covid-19 reduces transmission of the virus by the person vaccinated to other people.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides scientific advice to the Government based on the available evidence. The UKHSA’s weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Surveillance Report provides regular updates on vaccine effectiveness against person-to-person transmission. This information updated regularly as new evidence emerges and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports

Recent data suggests vaccine effectiveness against infection through person-to-person transmission is lower for the Omicron variant. However, high levels of protection against symptomatic disease were seen shortly after a booster dose. Further evidence is needed to understand the effect of the Omicron variant on the duration of protection and vaccine effectiveness against severe disease.