Influenza: Vaccination

Mark Hunter
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many and what percentage of (a) registered carers and (b) people with diabetes in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area received an influenza vaccination in each year since 1997;

(2) how many pensioners received a free influenza vaccine in (a) Cheadle constituency and (b) Stockport Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997; and what percentage each figure represents of those eligible in each year;

(3) how many free influenza vaccines (a) are available for use, (b) will be available for use by November 2007 and (c) will be available for use by December 2007 in (i) Cheadle constituency and (ii) Stockport Primary Care Trust area.

Dawn Primarolo
Flu vaccine uptake data was collected for the first time in those aged 65 and over from 2000-01. Uptake data for those aged under 65 in an at risk group started in 2005-06 and for carers in 2006-07.

Information is collected by primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority. Information is not collected by constituency.

The number and percentage of those aged 65 and over, those aged under 65 with diabetes and carers who received a flu vaccine in Stockport PCT for which data were collected are shown as follows:

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|       |Number|Percentage|Number|Percentage|Number|Percentage|
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|2000-01|29,885|64        |—     |—         |—     |—         |
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|2001-02|32,782|69        |—     |—         |—     |—         |
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|2002-03|34,225|72        |—     |—         |—     |—         |
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|2003-04|34,769|73        |—     |—         |—     |—         |
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|2004-05|33,475|75        |—     |—         |—     |—         |
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|2005-06|38,469|79        |2,974 |76        |—     |—         |
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|2006-07|34,953|77        |2,698 |71        |490   |54        |
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The Department does not purchase flu vaccine on behalf of general practitioner (GPs). GPs place orders for vaccine direct from the supplier of their choice. There are six suppliers of flu vaccine to the United Kingdom.

Bill Wiggin
To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 17 October 2007, Official Report, columns 1171-2W, on influenza: vaccinations, when he expects all 15 million doses of the seasonal influenza vaccination to be delivered; what targets the UK Vaccine Industry Group has been given for (a) producing and (b) delivering the 15 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo
The Department requested 15.75 million doses from manufacturers for this winter’s flu programme. Latest estimates from suppliers show that over 16 million doses of flu vaccine are available for distribution. We do not set the UK Vaccine Industry group targets for the delivery of flu vaccine however, by week ending 12 October, 13.2 million doses had been distributed in the United Kingdom.