Influenza: Vaccination
(asked on 6th July 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he made an assessment of the potential merits of funding influenza vaccinations for 50 to 64 years olds; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by
Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department is guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the approach to the seasonal flu vaccination programme in England. Details about the flu vaccination programme for 2023/24, including which groups will be eligible for a free vaccine and the vaccines that will be reimbursable to National Health Service providers, were published on 25 May 2023. The groups eligible for a free flu vaccine for the 2023 to 2024 season include those aged 65 years and over and those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, eligibility for the influenza programme was temporarily extended to include all adults aged between 50 and 64 years of age to protect the population from the potential threat of cocirculation of COVID-19 and influenza and alleviate pressure on the NHS. In the JCVI’s advice for the 2023/24 programme published in November 2022, it stated that whilst there would be a health benefit in vaccinating low risk 50- to 64-year-olds, it is uncertain whether this would be cost effective, and that the overall priority should be to extend the childhood programme in secondary schools as this would be more cost effective and likely to have a greater impact on morbidity and mortality compared with vaccinating 50- to 64-year-olds. We will continue to be guided by the JCVI on eligibility for seasonal flu vaccination
Whilst there was no quantitative assessment made of additional indirect benefits to the economy of not offering flu vaccinations to 50- to 64-year-olds this year, we did take into consideration qualitative evidence including the benefits of seasonal flu vaccination on reducing winter pressures when making our overall assessment. The department will continue to be guided by JCVI advice on cost-effectiveness.