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 adequacy of current arrangements for cancer patients to receive a Covid-19 vaccination prior to the start of chemotherapy, in cases where the Green Book advises that vaccination should ideally be planned around upcoming immunosuppressive treatment and administered during periods of minimal immunosuppression to maximise immune response.

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.

The COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Green Book on vaccination and immunisation sets out details of who may be vaccinated, including cases where a patient has upcoming immunosuppressive treatment, including chemotherapy. In these instances, it will be for their treating clinician to recommend whether a COVID-19 vaccine will be appropriate and when it should be given on a case-by-case basis. They will have the best knowledge of the patient and will need to be content that any prescriptions or treatments, including vaccinations, are clinically appropriate for the individual. Year-round pathways are in place locally to enable these vaccinations to be given when clinically indicated, including during or ahead of a course of chemotherapy.

The JCVI continues to keep the COVID-19 vaccination programme under review, and the Government will respond to any additional JCVI advice in due course.