Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of including broader value elements, such as societal and economic benefits, in the health technology assessment of vaccines.

The Department works closely with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England to design, implement, and deliver programmes offering high levels of long-term protection against preventable diseases.

When doing so, the Department takes into consideration the expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an independent departmental expert committee. The JCVI bases its advice and recommendations on evidence of the burden of disease, of vaccine safety and efficacy, and of the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies.

Broader socio-economic factors such as productivity costs from illness, improved educational attainment from reduced school absences, and out-of-pocket expenses and opportunity costs from attending a vaccination may be highlighted by the JCVI or other colleagues across the tripartite to inform policy-making.