Agenda item

Presentation covering where we are now and work being undertaken.

The Head of Immunisations and Screening for the ICB submitted a presentation on the current vaccine and immunisation rate in LLR:

·       The ICB was not currently a commissioner of vaccines but was due to be by April 2027. The ICB was preparing for the delegation of commissioning responsibilities and increasing uptake of vaccinations in the city across the whole age board by incorporating the lessons learned during Covid.

·       An uptake in the Maternal Pertussis was seen. The dip in uptake following the Covid period was gradually reduced from its nadir in 2023 by several projects to boost engagement with the community. These projects included clinical phone calls and text messages to unvaccinated women, a community pharmacy pilot, a roving healthcare unit who offered vaccines, stabilised staffing levels and bookable appointments at hospital sites.  

·       For the last decade there was a decline in uptake of children’s vaccination and the City was falling below the World Health Organisation goal of 95% vaccine coverage for children. The 2024-2025 data was a lot more positive and indicated an upward trajectory in vaccine uptake. It was commented by the Head of Immunisation and Screening that the current operational data which was not currently published was showing even more improvement.

·       LPT introduced their e-consent forms for school vaccines and there was an increase in uptake in school children being seen. There was also an increase in contacting parents whose children are eligible and an attempt to standardise the contact methods and attempts across the GP practices.  Feedback was collected from parents about the language of the form to make the information less technical and more accessible to the public.

·       The LLR Vaccine Hub website had 22,000 views in the past 12 months and the ‘Walk in Immunisation Finder’ which details the location of local walk-in clinics saw 9,700 hits since October 2025.

·       Strategic priorities of the service were to secure sustainable funding that specifically targets health inequalities as well as improve on the two key doctrines of allocating efficiently and universal proportionalism. Embed vaccination into the NHS prevention plan, expand the community outreach and engagement, prepare for commissioning responsibilities and optimise opportunities for NHS reorganisation.  

·       Overall, it was stated that LLR is in a better situation than most others in the midlands and was above the regional and national averages. This year’s winter vaccination campaign saw a much higher profile awareness campaign in the media and the ICB senior leadership, which helped to increase uptake. Areas for improvement were increasing vaccine rates among pregnant women, the clinically vulnerable and those who were eligible for the RSV vaccine.

Comments:

·       Members enquired about the maternal RSV vaccines and what the potential risks were if the vaccine wasn’t administered. It was explained that by not taking the vaccine, mothers were exposing their child to respiratory viruses when they were born. A further question was raised by members about the possible legal implications of not vaccinating children and were there any laws about child endangerment regarding this. In response, the Chief Medical Officer for the ICB detailed that there were no laws in the UK which compel vaccination and it was not covered under child safeguarding. Culture in the UK was always angled towards personal choice for the individual rather than compulsion, it was noted that apathy and scepticism was a large factor because of this. It was also commented that scepticism and apathy was even an issue amongst healthcare and social care workers.  

·       The joint work occurring between the ICB and Public Health to increase engagement and uptake of vaccines in the City was discussed. The situation regarding the HPV vaccine in Leicester and the various engagement programmes to increase its uptake in schools were mentioned. The new e-consent form was due to be rolled out in January 2026 which combined with the other engagement work was hoped to improve uptake. It was raised by the Head of Immunisations and Screening that she would like to come back to the Scrutiny Board with a presentation specifically on the HPV issue as it was arguably the biggest challenge in the City.

·        Representatives for the ICB announced that they were discussing the potential of shift to an outreach provider based in the community, rather than a roving health unit. It was argued that these community outreach providers would achieve the main future goal of prevention rather than treatment. 

·       The chair stated that she would like the topic of engagement with members of the public who have mental health problems or a learning disability to be explored. She also supported a future in depth look at the HPV vaccine and a further progress update on the immunisation and vaccine rate.

Agreed:

1. The report was noted by the Board.
2. The ICB to bring forward a future report which explores the HPV vaccine uptake in the City.