The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) has published their report ‘Prevention in health and social care: vaccination’ today. In response, the British Society for Immunology has released the following statement.
Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the British Society for Immunology, said:
“Today’s publication of the Health and Social Care Committee’s report on vaccination is a welcome development in the crucial work needed to maintain the UK as a global leader in vaccination and reverse the worrying multi-year downward trend of routine childhood immunisations in England.
“Vaccines are the safest and most effective method to protect our communities from preventable diseases. The British Society for Immunology has been calling for the urgent publication of NHS England’s vaccination and immunisation strategy, and we are pleased to see it highlighted in the HSCC report as a vital step forward to incorporate the lessons of the COVID-19 vaccine deployment and meet the 95% uptake target for all childhood vaccinations in England.
“We support the call from the Committee to strengthen the role of local immunisation co-ordinators to increase vaccine uptake. We also wholeheartedly agree with the importance of using trusted voices to widen community outreach, which we are proud to have been working towards with the BSI’s public engagement work and community leaders’ training.
“To maintain the UK as a world leader in vaccine research and development and enable exciting innovations like personalised therapeutics and cancer vaccines to boost public health, we must also address the clinical trial challenges highlighted in the Committee’s report.”
You can read the full House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee report ‘Prevention in health and social care: vaccination’ here.
You can read the written evidence we submitted to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's inquiry on prevention in health and social care here.