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Written question asked by Rosie Duffield (Independent (affiliation)) on Thursday, 23 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 (named day). It was answered by Sharon Hodgson (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had discussions with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the cost-effectiveness methodology applied to meningococcal group B vaccines; and whether that methodology will take account of (a) NICE's updated threshold of £25,000 to £35,000 per quality-adjusted life year and (b) other changes to NICE’s standard cost-effectiveness thresholds.

Answer

The Department is working closely with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to ensure that the methodology used by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to assess the cost-effectiveness of vaccination programmes provides the information that the committee requires in order to develop objective and robust advice on matters related to vaccination and immunisation, including advice on meningococcal group B vaccines.

While the JCVI’s code of practice is being updated, the Department has confirmed that the JCVI continues to consider a vaccination programme to be cost-effective if the health benefits, both the direct health benefits to those vaccinated and the indirect health benefits to the unvaccinated population, are greater than the costs when each quality-adjusted life year is valued at £20,000.

Information on cost-effectiveness is considered by the JCVI alongside evidence of the burden of disease, of vaccine safety and efficacy, and of the impact of immunisation strategies.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
129491
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Cost effectiveness Meningitis Vaccination
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk