Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle misinformation about mRNA vaccines.

The Government takes the issue of vaccine misinformation extremely seriously. It is essential that people are able to access accurate information so they can make informed decisions about their health. The Department is working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, media, social media and technology companies on innovative ways to tackle the proliferation of anti-vaccine messaging, limit misinformation, promote positive messages about vaccination and ensure that reputable sources such as NHS.UK are the most prominent. The Government uses extensive and targeted multi-channel communications, using trusted voices, and sharing accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccination, informed by clinical expertise and analysis from UKHSA.

Vaccines give us the best possible protection against COVID-19 and undergo a rigorous safety evaluation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. UKHSA works with stakeholders across Government to maintain awareness of misinformation narratives and promote clear and accurate public health messaging, including that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are safe, effective and have saved countless lives. The Government continues to liaise with international partners including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization to monitor misinformation and horizon scan for both mis- and disinformation that can form barriers to the uptake of public health measures in the United Kingdom, including COVID-19 vaccines.

The Government is introducing the Online Safety Bill. For the first time, technology companies are going to be accountable to an independent regulator to keep their users, particularly children, safe. Under the new terms of service duties for Category 1 services, which allow users to post content online or to interact with each other and that have the largest audiences and a range of features which enable content and activity to reach large numbers of people, if certain types of mis- and disinformation including anti-vaccination falsehoods are prohibited in their terms of service, they will have to remove them.