RSPH has today launched Gaining Assurance of Immunisation Services to Improve Coverage Rates and Reduce Inequalities in Access and Uptake: A Toolkit for Local Systems which will help leaders within local public health systems to identify, and act on, opportunities to improve how vaccinations are delivered and promoted in their area. 

Vaccinations are among the most impactful public health interventions, along with clean water and sanitation. They save up to 3 million lives worldwide every year, and have eliminated diseases like smallpox and polio from entire continents. However, in the UK, the coverage rates for certain vaccinations are falling, and the level of protection varies significantly across the population.  

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that at least 95% of children within a country are immunised against vaccine-preventable diseases. But in 2020/21, for the third consecutive year, none of the routine vaccinations in the UK met this target. As a result, outbreaks of mumps and measles have doubled in recent years, causing the UK to lose its measles-free status in 2018. 

RSPH’s Gaining Assurance of Immunisation Services toolkit aims to support efforts to reverse this trend by including resources for Directors of Public Health and Vaccination Leads within Integrated Care Systems, Local Pharmaceutical Committees and Primary Care Networks to: 

• Gain assurance from commissioners and providers in their area through the use of data and constructive challenge 

• Work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders 

• Improve access to immunisations 

• Engage with communities and developing communications to increase public awareness of, and confidence in, vaccinations 

Dr. Justin Varney, Director of Public Health at Birmingham City Council, said: “We have worked with the RSPH team to support the development of this important toolkit, including hosting a local workshop with all of the main local teams involved in increasing vaccination uptake. This toolkit will help local partnerships in Birmingham and across the country work together to drive vaccination uptake and reduce inequalities” 

 Kiran Kenth, Director of National and Regional Programmes at RSPH, said: “The Covid-19 vaccination roll-out inspired greater partnership-working and innovation across local systems than any immunisation programme in recent history. We hope this toolkit is used to maintain collaborative approaches and community engagement for all routine immunisations and the annual flu campaign so that we can secure protection from all vaccine-preventable diseases across the population.” 

Donald Read, Consultant in Public Health at Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “The RSPH project was a great opportunity to bring together a diverse range of partners to have their say on what could help increase immunisation uptake in our communities, many of whom had probably not had the opportunity to discuss these issues previously. The partner conversations involved in developing the toolkit have energised us and really helped us locally to realise how everyone can play a part in ensuring  good access to immunisations. We welcome the publication of the toolkit and are looking forward to using it locally to build further on an approach that genuinely involves people and organisations from across our communities. “  

Dr Julie Yates, Screening and Immunisation Lead for Public Health England, said: “The importance of robust, resilient and effective immunisation services has been brought into sharp focus during the Covid19 pandemic, but this need extends into all of our routine immunisation programmes. Achieving high uptake and coverage of vaccines and addressing inequalities in access and uptake are vital if we are to protect the health of the population. Collaboration across partners within public health is essential and local authorities have a key role to play. This resource provides information and insights to support the LA statutory role in assuring immunisation services and provides a valuable tool to help start those collaborative conversations with partners, or to refocus them as we move out of the pandemic where already well-established”.