Artificial Intelligence: Vaccine Technology

Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

This is a very hot topic of discussion. A lot is going on between nations and it is a big topic at the G7, where the UK is leading on some of these discussions.

[The Archbishop of Canterbury]

My Lords, we know that public confidence in vaccines is essential if there is to be good uptake and if they are to be effective. What are the Government planning to do to ensure that there is public confidence in AI-generated vaccines, and have they considered involving community and faith groups in this? Those are key to ensuring public confidence in this area.

[Lord Vallance of Balham (Lab)]

Public acceptance of vaccination is very high in this country, and that is built on trust, part of which comes from the regulator. The regulator in this country is extremely rigorous and will make sure that all the usual things that a vaccine needs to go through will be gone through, whether or not AI has been involved in the process somewhere. There will be no change in the regulations as a result of that, except where there may be opportunities to get better safety profiles because of the use of AI. That is important. As noted, it is crucial that public engagement with this happens. The MHRA is good at doing that, and it will be an important part of continuing to build vaccine confidence in the UK.