Date: Thursday, 9 September 2021
Time: 1.00pm – 2.30pm GMT

We launched our policy briefing, commissioned by MSD, on improving uptake for routine immunisation across the life course in a post-pandemic UK.

This event was chaired by Shirley Cramer, former CEO of Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH)

Speakers included:

• Rt Hon Dr Lisa Cameron MP, Chair of the APPG on Health
• Joanne Yarwood, National Immunisation Programme Manager, Public Health England
• Dr George Kassianos, National Immunisation Lead, Royal Society of General Practitioners
• Rehana Ahmed, Immunisation Commissioning Manager, NHS England
• Liam Hanson, Communications and Engagement Officer at ILC and author of the briefing

In many respects, the UK is an international example of best practice when it comes to immunisation, with good vaccine uptake rates and relatively low vaccine hesitancy. In particular, the UK’s COVID-19 vaccination programme has received a very high uptake rate of over 86.6% for the first dose among over-18s as of July 2021.

But we cannot afford to get complacent. The pandemic has further exposed inequalities in immunisation uptake in the UK. For example, uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine is 26% and 15% lower among those who identify as Black Caribbean and Pakistani respectively compared to those identifying as White British. There is also growing concern that routine immunisations will be missed or given less attention post-COVID.

Over the course of this year, ILC have been speaking to experts in immunisation from government and local authorities as well as healthcare professionals to discuss how the delivery of immunisation in the UK could be optimised, in particular through taking a life course approach; utilising data effectively; and getting commissioning right.

At this webinar, we launced a policy briefing with recommendations based on these discussions for the UK healthcare system to improve the uptake of routine immunisation post-pandemic.