Date: Thursday 1 April 2021
Time: 2.00pm – 3.30pm GMT

The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore all too starkly the importance of ensuring people of all ages have access to immunisation, especially now that the roll-out of a COVID-19 vaccine has begun.

Our “Safeguarding Healthy Ageing” report, commissioned by MSD, made three main recommendations on how the UK healthcare system could be optimised to improve immunisation rates among older adults:

• Take a life course approach
• Utilise data effectively
• Get commissioning right

This working group meeting focussed on translating our third recommendation into action. In particular, it explored potential improvements to the delivery and funding of vaccination programmes, such as through the expansion of the workforce and collaboration with local authorities to improve vaccination delivery – as we have seen in the delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine – and providing more clarity over sources of funding.

MSD initiated and fully funded this activity.