Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is his assessment of the impact of the covid-19 (a) outbreak and (b) vaccine rollout on the delivery of HPV vaccines in schools for 2021-22.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
Routine childhood immunisation programmes continued to be delivered in primary care during the early stages of the pandemic. However, the closure of schools from 23 March 2020 disrupted the delivery of all school-aged immunisation programmes, including human papillomavirus (HPV).
Providers have adopted a flexible and transformative delivery model to address this and ensure that those who are eligible can receive their vaccinations. This includes prioritisation of immunisations based on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice, digitalising consent processes and utilising a range of alternative community settings to deliver vaccines where appropriate. The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England are working with the Department for Education to ensure that schools facilitate the continuation of vaccinations and improve uptake rates.
Providers are currently focussed on delivering the flu vaccine in schools as well as the COVID-19 vaccine. The prioritisation of the flu vaccine is usual for this time of year and school providers will recommence work on routine vaccinations and those outstanding in the new year.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to progress the delivery of HPV vaccination, following the Minister's response to HC Deb, 25 March 2021, who stated that missed school aged vaccinations would be delivered no later than August 2021.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The closure of schools from 23 March 2020 interrupted the delivery of school-aged immunisation programmes, including human papillomavirus (HPV). NHS England and its commissioned school aged providers continue to implement the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding HPV vaccinations. The National Health Service is therefore prioritising the first dose of HPV vaccine for all those eligible whilst working to recover those school aged immunisations which have been previously missed. The Department and NHS England are working closely with the Department for Education to ensure that schools facilitate the continuation of vaccinations and improving uptake rates for school-aged vaccinations.
Providers are currently focussed on delivering the flu vaccine in schools, as is usual for this time of year, as well as the COVID-19 and expanded flu immunisation programme. School providers will recommence work on routine and outstanding vaccinations in the new year.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made for the risk of women turning to illegal online abortion medication at home if he remove the temporary approval given during the covid-19 outbreak to women and girls to take an early medical abortion following a telephone or e-consultation with a clinician.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Government’s public consultation on whether to make permanent the temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation for all eligible women has now closed. We are considering all evidence submitted, including relating to illegal online abortion websites and plan to publish our response later this year.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what inspection regime is planned of sites where patients sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 are housed where they are not inspected by the Care Quality Commission.
Answered by Gillian Keegan
Detentions for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983 must take place in hospital and as such are inspected by the Care Quality Commission. Persons may exceptionally be subject to short-term holding powers elsewhere, for example in police stations, which are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his plans are to ensure the future protection for immunocompromised or immunosuppressed groups who are potentially at greater risk from covid-19 than the general population after the rollout of the vaccine.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Immunocompromised individuals are a priority cohort for research into therapeutic and prophylaxis treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies and repurposed compounds. The new Antivirals Taskforce is also identifying effective treatments for patients who have been exposed to the virus to prevent the spread of infection spreading and accelerate recovery time. The National Health Service is also developing plans to deploy monoclonal antibody therapies if these become available.
We are ensuring the supply of these treatments in the event that they are found to be effective at treating COVID-19, including for immunocompromised individuals.
Until these treatments are available, patients with immunosuppression are advised to continue to follow advice to reduce their chance of exposure.
Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham Yardley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish communications on the potential continued risk to immunocompromised and immunosuppressed groups who may not receive the same level of protection from the covid-19 vaccines as the general population.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
On 12 July, we published updated guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable, including those who are immunocompromised and immunosuppressed, in light of the lifting of restrictions on 19 July. The guidance is available at the following link:
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer and NHS England’s National Medical Director wrote to clinicians on 16 July regarding immunosuppressed patients to provide an overview of the information available to date regarding vaccine efficacy in the immunosuppressed. This included additional information to inform conversations clinicians may have with patients who are immunosuppressed.