Roll out of the COVID:19 vaccine programme

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 26 Jan 2022 Closed: 8 Nov 2022 Parliament page
This inquiry follows on from our February 2021 report on the development and rollout of the first vaccines in the UK The Committee will question senior officials at DHSC, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency on how well placed the government is to meet its full objectives for … Read more
17 Recommendations
15 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
8 Nov
2022
Report published
8 Nov
2022
Correspondence
13 Jul
2022
Report published
12 May
2022
Correspondence
28 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
28 Mar
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
28 Mar 2022
View on parliament.uk
Roll out of the COVID:19 vaccine programme
Amanda Pritchard · NHS England Dame Dr Emily Lawson · NHS England and NHS Improvement Dr Jenny Harries OBE · UK Health Security Agency Madelaine McTernan · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Shona Dunn · Home Office
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Eleventh Report - The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme … HC 258 13 Jul 2022 32 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
13 results
Clear
1 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care (the Department), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHS … Read more
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13 Conclusion Not Addressed
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
However, effective targeting is now essential because those who are not fully vaccinated are concentrated...
However, effective targeting is now essential because those who are not fully vaccinated are concentrated in particular social groups. According to NHS England, many unvaccinated people are young city-dwellers, with just five cities accounting for a quarter of the total … Read more
Government Response
The government disagreed with the committee's recommendation to reduce the overall number of unvaccinated adults to 2.5 million and achieve an 80% uptake for first boosters among adults within four months. They stated they continue to focus on reaching out to the unvaccinated and not fully vaccinated and are using walk-in and mobile vaccination clinics to enable easy access.
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16 Conclusion Not Addressed
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
Additionally, Mencap raised concerns with us about specific difficulties in identifying and prioritising people with...
Additionally, Mencap raised concerns with us about specific difficulties in identifying and prioritising people with severe and profound learning disabilities.38 It said there was a need for more accessible communications for this group and to tackle needle phobia, which had … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation that NHS England and UKHSA should urgently evaluate which approaches are most effective for increasing vaccine uptake, communicate again with local areas about what works, and provide support to them to deploy the most effective approaches, but focuses its response on the recommendation regarding vulnerable groups generally and does not address Mencap's specific concerns about those with severe and profound learning disabilities.
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18 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
As part of an earlier inquiry in January 2021, the Taskforce told us how its...
As part of an earlier inquiry in January 2021, the Taskforce told us how its portfolio strategy aimed to “optimise the chances of success” in securing access to vaccines at a time of huge uncertainty about whether effective vaccines were … Read more
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22 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
The next stage for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to vaccinate 5-...
The next stage for the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to vaccinate 5- to 11-year-olds. NHS England told us it recognised that this would probably be a slower and more challenging rollout given the adaptations necessary to accommodate … Read more
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24 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
We also heard from NHS England that it was moving to a position where the...
We also heard from NHS England that it was moving to a position where the NHS and wider public sector estate should be used for vaccination sites wherever possible, in preference to renting private sector sites. Nevertheless, officials confirmed that … Read more
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25 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
The NAO report highlighted that future staffing was a major risk for the programme as...
The NAO report highlighted that future staffing was a major risk for the programme as a whole, due to staff burnout and the lack of surplus capacity in the healthcare system more generally.60 This was echoed by evidence provided to … Read more
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26 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
COVID-19 vaccine wastage was considerably below assumptions in 2021.
COVID-19 vaccine wastage was considerably below assumptions in 2021. We heard from NHS England and the Taskforce that this was due to system-wide efforts throughout the vaccination supply, distribution and deployment chain to ensure as much vaccine as possible was … Read more
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27 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
At our evidence session NHS England told us it was expecting wastage levels to increase...
At our evidence session NHS England told us it was expecting wastage levels to increase in 2022, because of the anticipated fall in overall demand.67 This is because, as demand reduces, it becomes harder to guarantee that all doses in … Read more
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28 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
Opportunities to reduce wastage should also be part of NHS considerations about which vaccination sites...
Opportunities to reduce wastage should also be part of NHS considerations about which vaccination sites will remain open in future. A nationwide pharmacy chain, Boots UK, told us that it would support a future model in which particular vaccination sites … Read more
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29 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
The Taskforce told us that predicting demand for 2022 remained difficult.
The Taskforce told us that predicting demand for 2022 remained difficult. It said it had consciously taken a cautious approach to procurement, based on the presumption that having too much vaccine would be better than having too little.71 There were … Read more
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31 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
There are many other parts of the vaccine programme, including GPs and pharmacies, external contractors,...
There are many other parts of the vaccine programme, including GPs and pharmacies, external contractors, volunteer schemes, local authorities and temporary staff, that are central to the delivery of the programme and that need timely confirmation about what funding will … Read more
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32 Conclusion
Eleventh Report - The rollout of t…
Finally, we note that in setting up the vaccine programme the Department provided indemnities to...
Finally, we note that in setting up the vaccine programme the Department provided indemnities to vaccine manufacturers, which gave cover for future claims against producers for any adverse effects of their vaccines. These indemnities may add to the costs of … Read more
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Government Response AI assessment · 21 of 17 classified
Accepted 12
Not Addressed 2
Rejected 7
Total 17 recs + 15 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
8 Nov 2022 Correspondence from Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive, NHS England, re House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts Eleventh Report of Sessions 2022- 2023: The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme in England, dated 31 October 2022
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12 May 2022 Correspondence from Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive, NHS, re Follow up to the Public Accounts Committee oral evidence session on COVID-19 vaccines – 28 March 2022, dated 22 April 2022
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