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 effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the delivery of child vaccination programmes.

Public Health England (PHE) has recently published a study on the early impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing measures on routine childhood vaccinations in England. General practice data indicates there has not been a significant reduction in the number of primary immunisation doses administered compared to the previous year, though there is some indication of a decrease in the first dose of measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations, although this appears to be recovering. PHE continues to monitor the situation closely. Further information can be found at the following link:

https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.19.2000848

Programmes delivered through schools are currently on hold and will be rescheduled when schools reopen.