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 impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the delivery of the school based vaccine in 2021-22.

During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, routine childhood immunisation programmes continued to be delivered in primary care. However, the closure of schools from 23 March 2020 meant that the delivery of all school-aged immunisation programmes, including human papillomavirus (HPV), tetanus, diphtheria and polio booster (Td/IPV) and meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) were interrupted from this date onwards.

Recovery and restoration continues, with National Health Service providers adopting a flexible and transformative delivery model to ensure those eligible receive their vaccine. This includes prioritisation of immunisations based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, digitalising consent processes and utilising a range of alternative community settings to deliver vaccines where appropriate. NHS England has also been working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Education to ensure that schools facilitate the continuation of vaccinations.