Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expedite a decision on recommending PCV20 for paediatric use, given that the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation, at its February meeting, indicated a preference for PCV20 to extend protection against pneumococcal disease in children but noted that modelling work remained ongoing.

At the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meeting in February 2025, the Committee discussed the use of different available vaccines in the infant pneumococcal vaccination schedule. The JCVI considered that the modelling that was presented at the time suggested there should be a preference for PCV20 in the current 1+1 schedule, provided it could be obtained at a cost-effective price, and that PCV13 and PCV15 could be considered equivalent to each other and suitable for use.

Following the meeting, and in discussions with the Chair, it was agreed that the JCVI and its pneumococcal sub-committee should be given further time to properly scrutinise the models before providing final advice. This was reflected in the minutes of both the February and June 2025 meeting minutes.

Further work on the models is ongoing, meaning JCVI advice remains outstanding on PCV20 in infants. The Department will consider any further JCVI advice on the pneumococcal vaccines used in the infant vaccination schedule in due course.