Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current policy on hepatitis vaccinations in the United Kingdom, in particular the implementation of a universal hepatitis B vaccination as part of the UK childhood immunisation schedule.

The hepatitis B vaccination is currently recommended for individuals considered to be at increased risk of complications from the disease or exposure to the virus such as injecting drug users, patients with chronic liver disease and families adopting children from countries with a high or intermediate prevalence of hepatitis B.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the independent expert committee that advises the government on all immunisation matters, has recommended that a universal infant hepatitis B vaccination should be introduced subject to procurement of a hexavalent (6 in 1) vaccine at a cost effective price. The outcome of the competitive tender exercise that is currently underway is expected to be known mid 2016.