Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) the take-up of the covid-19 second booster for the over 75s is and (b) plans he has to increase the level of take up.

The data is not available in format requested. However, as 17 April 2022 over 33% of people aged 75 years old and over in England have received a booster dose since 21 March 2022, which includes second booster doses. Those eligible will be contacted by the National Health Service and offered an appointment approximately six months after their last dose.

The Department, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency continue to provide advice and information to the public to increase uptake. As of 22 April 2022, approximately 2.6 million invitations had been sent to those in England eligible for a spring dose, including those aged 75 years old and older. In addition, information materials have been translated into 28 languages. NHS England is working with a range of groups to promote vaccination, including clinically-led question and answer sessions with those known to be more hesitant. Targeted approaches include working with leading Muslim doctors and the British Islamic Medical Association to encourage eligible individuals from the Muslim community to receive the spring dose during Ramadan. Local NHS teams are also offering vaccinations in care homes and through targeted mobile vaccination sites.