To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what criteria he selected the ages for RSV vaccine roll out.

The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programmes began on 1 September in England. The immunisation offer consists of a maternal programme for pregnant women to protect newborn babies, a routine programme for those turning 75 years old, and a catch-up programme for people already aged 75 to 79 years old. Older adults will remain eligible until the day before they turn 80 years old, except for people who turn 80 years old in the first year, who have until 31 August 2025 to get vaccinated.

When a new vaccination programme is introduced, the Government must make difficult decisions on who to offer the vaccine to. These decisions are based on advice the Department receives from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), and includes evidence of the impact a vaccination has in different groups, as well as the capacity of the system to deliver the programme alongside all other healthcare priorities.

For the maternal RSV programme, vaccination will be offered to pregnant women from 28 weeks of gestation to provide protection from RSV for babies during the first six months of life, when they are most vulnerable. The JCVI noted in their September 2023 statement that the available data on RSV vaccinations before week 28 of gestation was less compelling.

The JCVI also noted that the burden of RSV in older adults is less well understood and is considered to be underestimated by existing routine surveillance. The committee agreed that more work was required to obtain better estimates of the RSV burden in adults.

There was also less certainty about how well the vaccine works in people aged 80 years old and older. There were not enough people of this age in the clinical trials to be able to see if the vaccines are protective in this age band. The JCVI therefore suggested an initial programme to potentially vaccinate a cohort aged from 75 to 80 years old, and then for those turning 75 years old in subsequent years.

The structure of an immunisation programme is dynamic and the JCVI will continue to review the data available on who should be offered an RSV immunisation. It was noted in the June 2023 JCVI advice that ‘an extension to the initial programme would be considered when there is more certainty about protection in the very elderly and the real-world impact of the programme in the 75- to 80-year-olds’. A link to the JCVI statement on the introduction of an RSV vaccination programme is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rsv-immunisation-programme-jcvi-advice-7-june-2023/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv-immunisation-programme-for-infants-and-older-adults-jcvi-full-statement-11-september-2023