The UK has a strong pedigree in vaccines – from the first smallpox vaccine developed by Edward Jenner to the team at Oxford University behind one of the first COVID-19 vaccines.  Yet uptake of Covid and flu jabs has declined in the past twelve months, risking a knock-on effect for the healthcare system as a whole, meaning busier A&E departments and longer backlogs for routine care.  Coverage rates for routine programmes offered on the NHS meanwhile (such as for MMR, shingles and HPV) have been in decline since 2013.

This report sets out fifteen recommendations to reverse the decline to ensure the UK remains a world-leader in both vaccine development and delivery. Measures proposed include a call to establish a National Immunisation Board, chaired by the Vaccines Minister, to provide greater oversight; an expanded role for community pharmacy in delivering adult vaccines; a new workforce model to enable experienced clinicians and recent retirees to undertake vaccination as a protected activity and to allow all nursing, pharmacy and medical school students to support seasonal rollouts; and measures to supercharge the JCVI so it is best-prepared and resourced for future pandemics and to assess the suitability of future vaccines to join the immunisation schedule. The report also calls to pilot a new local delivery model called a ‘Vaccine Collaborative’ to enable providers – including pharmacists, GP surgeries and local government – to partner more easily to boost uptake in areas of low uptake.