APPG Inquiry: Call for written evidence

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Vaccinations for All was created in 2017 in order to raise the political profile of the importance of essential immunisation around the world and within the UK.

The APPG on Vaccinations for All is conducting an inquiry into the uptake of vaccines and the increasing number of parents delaying or refusing to accept vaccines where they are readily available. The aim of the inquiry is to understand the reasons for low uptake of some childhood vaccines and what can be done to increase rates of vaccination in high-income countries such as the US, Europe and the UK. The inquiry will also consider the impact of falling uptake in high-income countries in the context of global vaccine confidence and the influence between the two. The inquiry will look to make policy recommendations for UK and international decision makers.

While the inquiry will focus on regions such as the UK, Western Europe and North America, we would also welcome submissions from countries in Eastern Europe and the Global South regarding how health behaviours in high-income countries impact lower income countries, and vice versa.

The APPG invites written submissions into all aspects of decision making for childhood and life course vaccines, including confidence, complacency, and convenience, but is particularly interested in submissions answering the following questions:

  1. What are the key reasons some parents choose not to vaccinate their children?
    • Are there connections in decision-making for vaccines in high income countries and lower income countries?
  2. What impact (current and future) does confidence in vaccines have on vaccine acceptance and uptake?
    • Are there societal factors and trends that can impact confidence in vaccination?
    • What is the relative importance of confidence as a reason for not having vaccines in relation to the other reasons people decide not to have vaccines?
  3. What can be done to support an increase in uptake of vaccines and access to wider health services?
    • Are there examples of successful initiatives or activities that have increased uptake of vaccinations?
  4. Should compulsory vaccinations be considered/continue in your region/country of expertise?
  5. What role can health workers, NGOs and community groups have in increasing uptake of vaccines?
    • What challenges might they face and what are the solutions?
  6. What are the health risks if childhood vaccination rates fall?
    • What impact could vaccines have if uptake increases?
    • What potential role do vaccines have in tackling issues such as cancer or antibiotic resistance?

Please give specific examples, evidence, and references, wherever possible. Please feel free to only write evidence on particular aspects that are relevant to your area of expertise.

Responding to the Call for Evidence

The APPG welcomes submissions of evidence from as wide a range of organisations and respondents as possible. This includes parents or groups of people who have a lack of confidence in vaccines.

Please ensure that your written submission adheres to the following guidelines:

  • No more than 2,000 words in length
  • In Word format and including paragraph numbers
  • States clearly who the submission is from, i.e. whether from yourself in a personal capacity or sent on behalf of an organisation, and includes a brief description of yourself/your organisation

Please email your submission as an attachment to vfa.secretariat@appg-vfa.org.uk.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 30th August 2019.