Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 18 November (HL2386), what lessons have been learned from the 2024 distribution of respiratory syncytial virus vaccines to primary care settings; and how these lessons will be applied to ensure early availability to all eligible patients from 1 September 2025.

The RSV vaccination programmes for pregnant women (to protect newborn babies) and older adults began in England on 1st September 2024. The national campaign is running year-round. It is not a seasonal programme.

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) procure vaccines and manage UK buffer stocks for the RSV programmes. RSV vaccines are and will continue to remain available for primary care providers to order at any time throughout the year from UKHSA’s NHS facing vaccine ordering website.

While a small number of primary care providers experienced delays with rolling out the programmes from 1st September, there have been no major issues with distributing RSV vaccines from central supply stocks. UKHSA will continue to monitor vaccine distribution, to ensure supplies remain readily available to providers so they can deliver the programmes.