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 level of take-up of (a) MMR and (b) other vaccines among under 18 year old that would normally form part of the routine vaccination programmes since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.

Public Health England published quarterly vaccine coverage data of routine childhood immunisations in March 2021 and June 2021. The data showed a decrease of between 0.5% to 0.7% in vaccines measured at 12 months age in October to December 2020, but coverage remained stable in January to March 2021. Vaccines measured at 24 months of age showed a decrease of between 0.8% to 1.1% in quarter four compared to the previous quarter, including a decrease of 1.0% of the first Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine. These are the first cohorts potentially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coverage of adolescent vaccines, meningococcal ACWY, Human Papilloma Virus and tetanus/diphtheria/polio is measured annually. Figures for the 2019/20 academic year show a 20-30% decrease in coverage compared to the previous year, related to school closures during the pandemic.