Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of widening the eligibility of COVID vaccines to people with Multiple Sclerosis.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness, resulting in hospitalisations and deaths, arising from COVID-19.

COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.

The focus of the JCVI advised programme is targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.

The Government has accepted the JCVI advice for spring 2026 and in line with the advice, a COVID-19 vaccination is being offered to the following groups:

- adults aged 75 years old and over;

- residents in care homes for older adults; and

- individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed, as in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book.

The JCVI keeps all vaccination programmes under review.