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 impact of the spread of respiratory syncytial virus on hospital capacity.

Through the Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Watch programme, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) undertakes surveillance of hospitalisation rates in different age groups for confirmed cases of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in England. These rates are published weekly through the winter.

The UKHSA also undertakes monitoring and evaluation of immunisation programmes, including the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing hospital admissions. Monitoring and evaluation work has begun for the new RSV programmes which launched in September 2024 to protect infants through maternal vaccination and for the direct protection of older adults. Findings will be published in due course.