December 14th 2023

By Ailsa Colquhoun

NHSE starts new vaccination strategy 'conversation'

Targets are pre-school and ethnic minority groups

Routine and seasonal vaccinations delivered through more settings has been set out as a suggested solution to falling uptake rates in a new NHS England vaccination strategy.

The strategy aims to boost uptake rates of all vaccinations, but particularly, in children and adult minority groups. One suggestion is to align adult routine vaccinations with seasonal vaccinations through community pharmacies, GPs and other settings including:

• secondary care settings for adults, young people and children where this will improve uptake of vaccination
• walk-in and out-of-hours clinics
• home-based services.

The strategy calls for greater use of the NHS app to promote vaccination uptake, which has fallen to concerning levels: uptake ranges from 48.5 per cent for Black or Black British – Caribbean to 83.6 per cent for White – British. A 10-year decline in pre-school immunisations and coverage has produced rates that are lower than the WHO-specified threshold for many vaccines and lower than in other advanced economies.

The strategy aims to “start a conversation, within integrated care boards (ICBs) and the wider health and care system”.