Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the provision of covid-19 booster vaccinations to community pharmacies.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Community pharmacies have been taking part in the COVID-19 vaccination programme since January 2021. NHS England has recently changed the model for procuring COVID-19 vaccination services to an opt-in model. All community pharmacies who applied, and met the minimum requirements, received a contract to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations. This enabled more pharmacies to support the autumn 2023/24 booster campaign, administering COVID-19 vaccinations alongside flu vaccinations, which are also increasingly being administered in these settings.
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington 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 help increase uptake of the shingles vaccine by people aged over 65 in Warrington.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended that those who are eligible for the shingles vaccine should change, to allow individuals to be protected at an earlier age, particularly those that have a weakened immune system. Based on the evidence, they recognised that there may be more clinical benefit from starting shingles vaccinations at a lower age, with modelling indicating that a greater number of cases of shingles would be prevented with vaccination at 60 years old for immunocompetent individuals, and 50 years old for immunosuppressed individuals. The committee advised that the programme should be implemented in stages, starting with those that are over 50 years old with a weakened immune system and those turning 65 and 70 years old, then eventually moving down to those turning 60 years old. This is a similar pattern to the roll out of the shingles vaccine from 2013. This is why the vaccine offer has been expanded to all those turning 65 and 70 years old and all those over 50 years old with a weakened immune system, from 1 September 2023. The programme began on 1 September 2023 and will run until 31 August 2028, offering the vaccine to people as they turn 65 and 70 years old, until the offer has been made to all those aged 65 to 70 years old. It will then expand to offering the vaccine to all those that are turning 60 and 65 years old, from 1 September 2028.
The shingles vaccine is available through general practice (GP) surgeries in primary care, and GPs are required to identify and put in place a call or recall arrangement to offer the shingles vaccination to eligible patients. All eligible patients are contacted by their GP surgery to invite them for vaccination. The GP will then follow up with letters or with calls and text messages, to encourage eligible people that have not come forward to take up the offer.
There is a wide range of public facing information to help increase uptake of the shingles vaccine, and to publicise the programme in GP surgeries and online, including display bunting, leaflets, and posters. GPs are also adding messages regarding shingles to their practice websites, prescription counterfoils, and social media banners. Public facing information regarding the shingles vaccination programme includes translations into over 20 different languages including braille, audio, large print, and British Sign Language. Information for healthcare professionals, including GP toolkits for improving uptake of shingles vaccination, has also been produced and published by local immunisation commissioning teams.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to declining immunisation rates in the UK, what level of prioritisation the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency are giving to the adoption of new immunisation programmes with high uptake.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The introduction and adoption of new immunisation programmes and achieving high uptake across all immunisation programmes remains a high priority for the Government. We achieve high uptake for both life-course and seasonal vaccinations, with over 90% for pre-school diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis and among the highest in the world for flu vaccination. The NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme has been the biggest vaccine drive in the history of the National Health Service, implementing the largest volume of new vaccines in the shortest time, and repeatedly with boosters. 157.5 million COVID-19 vaccinations were delivered in England from December 2020 to the end of January 2024. However, over the last decade, performance across routine immunisation programmes has been in decline and continued variation in uptake and coverage between different communities reflects wider health inequalities.
In response to these challenges, the NHS vaccination strategy builds on lessons learnt from the pandemic and the success of our routine immunisation programmes. It aims to maximise uptake and coverage of vaccinations across all communities, improving uptake to save more lives.
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
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 eliminate (a) cervical and (b) other cancer caused by human papillomavirus.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, alongside routine screening, is key to protecting people against strains of HPV that can cause some cancers including cervical, anal, head and neck cancer.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme (CSP) provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely, to detect certain types of HPV infection which cause 99.7% of cervical cancer. An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS CSP.
The HPV vaccination is offered to all adolescents in Year 8 of school, and catch-up vaccinations are available to those up to 25 years old, those born on or after 1 September 2006, for both females and males who may have missed vaccination under the schools’ programme, providing an additional failsafe. The HPV vaccination is also recommended to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, up to and including those aged 45 years old.
NHS England’s vaccination strategy sets out a range of ambitions to improve uptake across the National Health Service’s vaccination programmes. This includes building on existing work and delivery to develop implementation plans for how HPV vaccinations, alongside cervical screening and pre-cancer treatment, can help achieve the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 increase pertussis vaccination rates among (a) young children and (b) pregnant women.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), in partnership with NHS England and the Department, undertakes a range of actions to improve vaccination coverage for all ages in England. This includes initiatives to improve access to the immunisation programme, data to better identify under-served individuals and populations, training for healthcare professionals, and communication with the public.
For example, on 4 March 2024, the UKHSA launched a new multi-media marketing campaign across England to remind parents and carers of the risk of their children missing out on protection against serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country, with an urgent call to action to catch up on missed vaccinations.
Expectant mothers are encouraged to take up the maternal pertussis vaccine, which is 97% effective at preventing death in young infants from whooping cough. Parents and carers are also being reminded to check that children are vaccinated against whooping cough, which is offered to all infants at eight, 12, and 16 weeks of age, as part of the six in one combination vaccine, with an additional dose included in the pre-school booster vaccine.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making access to Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccinations available to farming and agricultural families that regularly interact with livestock.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination is not usually recommended for people aged over 16 years old, unless the risk of exposure is great. The vaccination can be offered to veterinary staff and those who handle animals or animal materials, for instance abattoir workers, which could be infected with tuberculosis (TB). Based on the current available evidence, only a very small subset of farmers may be at high risk of TB exposure and therefore eligible for vaccination. This does not include farmer’s household contacts or children who would not constitute a risk sufficiently high enough to warrant a recommendation for the vaccine. If the level of risk should increase, then the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation could be asked to review this.
Eligibility for the BCG vaccination as an occupational health vaccine should be based on an individual risk assessment. Those eligible would need to access the vaccine through a private occupational health provider, and may seek further advice from the National Farmers Union. Non-National Health Service providers can charge for this service.
Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), all new employees, including farmers, should undergo a pre-employment health assessment, which should include a review of immunisation needs. The COSHH risk assessment will indicate which pathogens staff are exposed to in their workplace, such as bovine TB. Staff considered to be at risk of exposure to pathogens should be offered routine pre-exposure immunisation as appropriate. This decision should also take into account the safety and efficacy of available vaccines.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 5 February 2024 to Question 11582 on MMR Vaccine: North West, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the lower uptake of MMR2 at five years; and what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of childhood vaccines.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations to which they are entitled. Vaccination rates across the country are too low, particularly in some local areas, and we need a concerted effort to reach the 95% coverage, with two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, required to provide population protection.
The Department works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS England to improve immunisation through diverse delivery methods, making getting vaccinated easier for all, including those in traditionally under-served groups. The UKHSA launched a new multi-media marketing campaign across England on 4 March 2024, to remind parents and carers of the risk of their children missing out on protection against serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country.
There have also been increased outreach efforts to make sure that communities with historically lower uptake are informed of the benefits of vaccines and have access to inclusive resources. For example, in the North West and the Midlands, National Health Service teams are using initiatives like roving clinics, extra vaccination sessions in schools, and community pharmacies to step up their efforts to get more children protected with the MMR vaccine.
The Government supports NHS programmes focused on improving coverage, including regional and national campaigns for polio, and a new targeted national MMR catch-up campaign for children aged six to 11 years old this year, extended to all those aged 11 to 25 years old in London, the West Midlands and the North West. Human papillomavirus infection vaccination catch-ups for adolescents are also taking place.
The NHS Vaccination strategy outlines plans to maximise convenience, with more vaccination services at locations that the public can easily access such as libraries, leisure centres, social clubs or sports grounds, family hubs, support services, and places of worship, or at local cultural and community events, with flexible opening hours and booking options.
Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Yellow Cards for covid-19 vaccinations were (a) identified by the MHRA as being of special interest and (b) followed up by the MHRA in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Adverse events of special interest (AESI) are medical events or conditions that have been identified as possible vaccine safety concerns, based mainly on previous experience with other vaccines and immune-mediated events which theoretically may occur, as vaccines stimulate an immune response. AESIs for COVID-19 vaccines were subject to enhanced surveillance by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and many other regulators from the start of the United Kingdom’s immunisation programme.
Specifically in relation to AESIs, the MHRA has received 22880 UK spontaneous suspected adverse reaction (ADR) reports across all COVID-19 vaccines. Over 157 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been given in the UK. It is important to note that Yellow Card reports are not proof of a side effect occurring, and the incidence of a reaction occurring cannot be determined by these reports. The MHRA considers that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks for the majority of people.
The MHRA acknowledges receipt of every Yellow Card report received, and a team of safety experts follow up for additional information as necessary, including consideration of reports with a fatal outcome, based on the completeness, severity, and clinical details provided in the report. Responses to follow-up requests for ADR reports are recorded and stored with the original report on our ADR database. The information is then passed downstream for use in signal detection and the identification of safety concerns.
The data is available for its core purpose of assessment and signal detection, however, the systems were not designed to quantify follow-up metrics requested in this parliamentary question. As such it is not possible to automatically generate metrics on the proportion of follow-up requests sent. The MHRA has provided information on follow up rates under Freedom of Information, within the 20 day statutory timeframes based on manual review of reports, and is committed to publishing high level data on its website.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what work they are undertaking with the devolved administrations to extend the commitment to eliminate cervical cancers in all parts of the UK.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has developed an implementation plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 and will work collaboratively with key partners including National Health Service regions, charities and third sector stakeholders, as well as learning from the approaches being taken across the devolved nations.
NHS England’s plan covers activity for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening pathways. To support increased access and uptake of the HPV vaccination to school aged children, NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations.
An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. Screening activity includes a review of the screening information materials, development of IT systems to give insights into behaviours, and a review of the colposcopy services.
Further work is planned to include a general practice opt-in option for trans men and non-binary people, pilot text reminders for all eligible patients, expanding access to a range of locations, and targeted upskilling of workforce.
Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales and a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. While Department officials work closely with their counterparts in the devolved administrations, any decision on commitments on cervical cancer in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the respective governments in each country.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what implementation plans they are creating following NHS England's pledge to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England has developed an implementation plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 and will work collaboratively with key partners including National Health Service regions, charities and third sector stakeholders, as well as learning from the approaches being taken across the devolved nations.
NHS England’s plan covers activity for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening pathways. To support increased access and uptake of the HPV vaccination to school aged children, NHS England continues to work with all key stakeholders at regional level to strengthen local initiatives and encourage innovative models to approach the robust delivery of school aged vaccinations.
An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. Screening activity includes a review of the screening information materials, development of IT systems to give insights into behaviours, and a review of the colposcopy services.
Further work is planned to include a general practice opt-in option for trans men and non-binary people, pilot text reminders for all eligible patients, expanding access to a range of locations, and targeted upskilling of workforce.
Health is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales and a transferred matter in Northern Ireland. While Department officials work closely with their counterparts in the devolved administrations, any decision on commitments on cervical cancer in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the respective governments in each country.