Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to adopt a new immunisation programme and ensure that there is high uptake of this programme.

The Department is advised by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI considers the disease’s burden on society, vaccine safety and efficacy, and the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies, before making a recommendation as to whether a new immunisation programme should be developed. This advice is then considered by the Department and, subject to that consideration, the Department works with partners, including the National Health Service and the UK Health Security Agency, to ensure the effective implementation of this advice. This includes work to ensure vaccine uptake of any implemented programmes is high. Numerous methods are used to ensure high uptake, including targeted communications, ensuring vaccine accessibility and availability.