Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure that care staff working in other settings are able to receive booster vaccinations against covid-19.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
All frontline health and social care workers are eligible for the autumn COVID-19 booster vaccination and flu vaccine. Social care workers are encouraged to take up the offer of the vaccines as soon as possible to help protect themselves and those they care for. The Department wrote to adult social care providers prior to the launch of the autumn booster campaign on the importance of vaccination and supporting staff to receive a vaccination. The UK Health Security Agency also provides further promotional material online. Further targeted communications will be issued to the sector during the campaign.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is planning to take steps to deliver a strategy to eradicate Bovine TB from wildlife, including providing data on (a) epidemiologically-led culling and (b) Government-funded badger vaccination.
Answered by Scott Mann - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Controlling bovine TB in wildlife, specifically badgers, makes up part of the package of measures of our bovine TB eradication strategy, with the aim of achieving Officially TB Free status for England by 2038[1].
As part of the next phase of the strategy HM Government will now evolve its approach and gradually move on from intensive badger culling over the next few years. Badger culling would remain an option where epidemiological assessment indicates that it is needed. The proposal for epidemiologically led culling is currently under development.
Details of HM Government funded badger vaccination, together with data on the number of badgers vaccinated, is published on GOV.UK[2][3][4][5].
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Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to roll out the (a) covid-19 booster and (b) flu vaccines; and if he will recommend that they are administered at the same time.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government continues to be guided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice for an autumn COVID-19 vaccination booster programme which commenced on 5 September 2022 in England and announced an expanded offer of free flu vaccinations which commenced on 1 September 2022.
As with previous COVID-19 campaigns, the oldest and most vulnerable will be offered appointments first. During the week of 5 September 2022, more than 700 care homes in England will be visited by COVID-19 vaccination teams. From 7 September, approximately seven million people, including people aged 75 years old and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers will be able to book an appointment online or by calling 119. The National Health Service will also launch the flu vaccine programme and encouraging eligible people to take up the offer where possible. Local NHS systems have been asked to maximise opportunities to co-promote and co-administer COVID-19 and flu vaccinations where possible and clinically advised, especially where this improves patient experience and uptake.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) the take-up of the covid-19 second booster for the over 75s is and (b) plans he has to increase the level of take up.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The data is not available in format requested. However, as 17 April 2022 over 33% of people aged 75 years old and over in England have received a booster dose since 21 March 2022, which includes second booster doses. Those eligible will be contacted by the National Health Service and offered an appointment approximately six months after their last dose.
The Department, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency continue to provide advice and information to the public to increase uptake. As of 22 April 2022, approximately 2.6 million invitations had been sent to those in England eligible for a spring dose, including those aged 75 years old and older. In addition, information materials have been translated into 28 languages. NHS England is working with a range of groups to promote vaccination, including clinically-led question and answer sessions with those known to be more hesitant. Targeted approaches include working with leading Muslim doctors and the British Islamic Medical Association to encourage eligible individuals from the Muslim community to receive the spring dose during Ramadan. Local NHS teams are also offering vaccinations in care homes and through targeted mobile vaccination sites.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of declining immunity to COVID-19 in the population; and what steps they are taking to continue vaccination against COVID-19 in response to any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Kamall
The UK Health Security Agency regularly reviews data on vaccine effectiveness, including declining immunity to COVID-19. Recent data suggests that vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease with the Omicron variant is substantially lower than against the Delta variant, with rapid waning of immunity over time. However, protection against hospitalisation remains high, particularly after three doses. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) continues to review the data and will advise the Government if they observe indications in the data of changes that could be addressed by adjustments to the COVID-19 vaccination programme.
The COVID-19 vaccination programme has agreed three key priorities: continued access to first, second and booster or third doses; delivery of an autumn COVID-19 vaccination campaign if advised by the JCVI; and development of detailed contingency plans to rapidly increase capacity, if required. The National Health Service continues to campaign to encourage people to come forward for COVID-19 vaccinations, particularly targeting those sections of community where we know there has been low take up for example in pregnant women and some ethnic groups.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the School Aged Immunisation Service will be involved in the vaccination of five to 11 year olds against covid-19; and what additional resources he plans to provide to ensure the effectiveness of the programme.
Answered by Robin Walker
On 16 February 2022, the government accepted advice from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to make a non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccinations to all children aged 5 to 11 in England. The NHS will prepare to extend the non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus.
The system letter, published on 18 February by the NHS, confirms that community pharmacy-led local vaccination services and centres should be the primary delivery models for this cohort. This letter can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/updated-jcvi-advice-for-vaccinating-5-to-11-year-olds/.
The NHS is also currently offering vaccinations to at-risk children and those who live with immunosuppressed people in this age group. Parents and guardians of at-risk children aged 5 to 11 should wait for the NHS to contact them, with local NHS teams already contacting those who are eligible.
Asked by: Bridget Phillipson (Labour - Houghton and Sunderland South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of levels of vaccine hesitancy among parents of children aged (a) five to 11 and (b) 12 to 15.
Answered by Robin Walker
Vaccinations help to increase protection against COVID-19. Being vaccinated minimises the need for children and young people to have time off from school or college, and helps them to continue to carry out their hobbies, attend social events and live their lives to the full.
As of 19 February 2022, the UK COVID-19 dashboard reports that 55.9% of 12 to 15 year olds have received the vaccination since September, and we continue to see vaccination rates increase.
To support the COVID-19 vaccination programme for young people, the NHS, Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education are working together to make it more efficient and increase the scale and pace of delivery. We are also working to target communications to parents, young people and the public to improve uptake and increase overall confidence in the programme. The department is continually working to support the NHS to better engage with parents and understand their needs and concerns regarding the vaccination programme. This includes identifying the preferred communication approaches, channels and content for parents to access reliable, impartial information and make informed decisions.
The NHS will prepare to extend the non-urgent offer of COVID-19 vaccination to children aged 5 to 11 during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus. In all instances, the offer of vaccination will be accompanied by appropriate information to enable children, and those with parental responsibility, to provide informed consent prior to vaccination and encourage children to discuss the decision with their parents.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent data his Department holds on covid-19 booster vaccine take-up by ethnicity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England and NHS Improvement publish monthly data on vaccination rates, including booster and third doses by ethnicity, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
Local authority Directors of Public Health receive daily updates on vaccine uptake in their areas, by Middle Layer Super Output Area and ethnicity to allow them to tailor their vaccination programme to the communities they serve. In December 2021, we announced £22 million for the Community Vaccine Champions Scheme to support 60 local authorities with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. Community Champions are working with local councils to address barriers to accurate vaccine information and encourage community members to get vaccinated. All vaccination rates are monitored and reported and NHS England and NHS Improvement hold regular discussions with providers in areas of low uptake.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent data his Department holds on third covid-19 vaccine dose take-up by ethnicity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
NHS England and NHS Improvement publish monthly data on vaccination rates, including booster and third doses by ethnicity, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
Local authority Directors of Public Health receive daily updates on vaccine uptake in their areas, by Middle Layer Super Output Area and ethnicity to allow them to tailor their vaccination programme to the communities they serve. In December 2021, we announced £22 million for the Community Vaccine Champions Scheme to support 60 local authorities with the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. Community Champions are working with local councils to address barriers to accurate vaccine information and encourage community members to get vaccinated. All vaccination rates are monitored and reported and NHS England and NHS Improvement hold regular discussions with providers in areas of low uptake.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to remove misinformation on covid-19 vaccines online.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously. The Counter Disinformation Unit was stood up on 5 March 2020 to bring together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities to provide a comprehensive picture of the extent, scope, and reach of misinformation and disinformation, including that relating to COVID-19. The CDU remains stood up.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the information people access about COVID-19 and the vaccine is accurate, so that everyone is able to make informed decisions about their health. We are working with social media platforms to ensure promotion of authoritative sources of information, and to help them identify and remove incorrect claims about COVID-19 and the vaccine in line with their terms and conditions.
The Online Safety Bill will force companies to tackle illegal misinformation and disinformation in scope of the Bill, and the biggest platforms will need to address legal but harmful material, including some types of harmful misinformation such as anti-vaccination content. However, we expect companies to take steps now to improve safety, and not wait for the legislation to come into force before acting.