MPs express concerns around stalling vaccination coverage rates

The chair of the parliamentary health and social care committee has urged the government to address several concerns around falling vaccination rates.

MP Layla Moran, who has chaired the committee of cross-party MPs since 2024, has written to the public health minister expressing concerns about routine vaccination uptake in England becoming ‘stagnant or declining’.

She highlighted that winter flu vaccination uptake for healthcare workers ‘remains low’, as well as the failure to ensure 95% coverage for routine childhood immunisations and the return of infectious diseases such as a measles and the whooping cough.

In a letter to MP Ashley Dalton, who has since resigned from her role to continue her cancer treatment, Ms Moran said the committee believes there is ‘complacency about delivering results’ when it comes to vaccinations.

The concerns follow the committee’s evidence sessions on vaccinations in England held on 11 February. Several speakers gave evidence including Dr Mary Ramsay, director of public health programmes at UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Michelle Kane, director of vaccination, screening delivery and transformation at NHS England, and Greg Fell, president at Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH).

‘We are concerned about the stalling vaccination coverage rates, and the lack of ambition to reverse this trend evident from representatives of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England (NHSE) and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA),’ she said.

Related Article: Research insights: the latest updates from clinical papers

‘We heard from witnesses that no target was set for the vaccination strategy, with ambition focused instead on “halting the decline” after a decade of poor vaccination uptake. ‘We were not reassured that the vaccination strategy, published three years ago, is on track to deliver the significant improvement in uptake rates that are needed.

‘Vaccination is the cornerstone of health prevention. Without getting this right, how can we be assured that wider prevention ambition will be realised?’

Ms Moran said the committee had been told of ‘the importance of ensuring frontline healthcare workers are sufficiently trained and skilled at reinforcing accurate messages around vaccinations as well as being confident answering patient questions’.

The committee called on the government to ensure ‘frontline healthcare workers receive consistent, high-quality training to provide accurate vaccination information to all patients they treat and provide a commitment to sustain high-quality community engagement initiatives’.

Ms Moran also called on the government to improve financial stability regarding vaccinations and to clarify how it plans to mitigate risks when transferring commissioning responsibility to integrated care boards (ICBs) from NHSE in 2027.

The committee discussed the need for a ‘sustainable investment plan’ to ensure ‘primary care and ICBs can effectively deliver all routine and seasonal vaccinations programmes’.

It has been announced as part of changes for the GP contract 2026/27 that new incentive payments will be given to GP practices that don’t hit childhood vaccination targets but that are making ‘progress’ with uptake.

Currently, only practices that hit QOF childhood vaccination and immunisation targets earn extra payments, with minimum achievement thresholds starting at 81%.

Ms Moran added that the committee was informed of ‘immense pressures’ faced by primary care allegedly putting ‘effective long-term vaccination delivery at risk’.

She said Community Pharmacy England advised the committee that 10,000 pharmacies are ‘well placed’ to deliver vaccinations but they need further funding and contract changes.

Related Article: Understanding rare diseases and how to support patients with them

‘We believe the MMRV vaccine should be available in all pharmacies and were deeply concerned by the Department’s unsatisfactory explanation for why this is not already the case,’ she said.

However, there have been concerns expressed previously that delivery of vaccinations in pharmacies could ‘fragment primary care services’, with patients benefiting from continuity of care in general practices.

Ms Moran concluded in her letter: ‘Vaccinations are one of the most effective public health interventions for protecting the population from serious illness and death.

‘We should be grateful for clarification of the government’s plans for restoring vaccination coverage and protecting the public’s health.’

Following Ms Dalton’s resignation, Downing Street has announced that Sharon Hodgson had been appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Health and Social Care.

Mrs Hodgson was first elected in May 2005 and served as a shadow minister for public health when her party was in opposition.

Posting on social media, Mrs Hodgson said she was ‘honoured to have been appointed’.

Related Article: Multimillion-pound fund opens for projects aimed at improving men’s health

The DHSC spokesperson said: ‘Vaccination is the best form of defence, free for those at greatest risk and we continue to urge those eligible to follow the advice of their doctor by coming forward to protect themselves.

‘Thousands more children across the country could be protected from deadly and highly infectious diseases through our recent investment in GPs and we are strengthening vaccination delivery where it is needed most.

 ‘Last month, we also announced a new childhood immunisation campaign to make it easier for parents to access information on childhood vaccines, and we are working to improve vaccine uptake in schools.’