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 of the potential merits of prioritising vaccinating those with mild to moderate learning disabilities.

On 24 February, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published a clarification of their advice on vaccinating people with a learning disability. The JCVI confirmed their advice that prioritisation should be for those with a severe and profound learning disability as in their view the evidence does not support prioritised vaccination for those with learning difficulties outside this group. However, the committee supported a practical approach of inviting everyone who is on a General Practitioner Learning Disability Register for vaccination in priority group 6. The Government accepted this advice and everyone who is on a GP Learning Disability Register is now included in priority group 6 of Phase 1 of the vaccine programme.