Everyone who reads these words has benefitted from the top two Public Health measures of all time: clean water and vaccination. While clean water is still de riguer, vaccine conspiracy theorists continue to threaten the health of the nation with spurious stories that simply reflect the need to blame something for poorly understood diseases. Yet the truth remains - millions of lives are saved every year through immunisation.
In 2020health's new report out today Not Immune: UK vaccination policy in a changing world we make the case for strengthening the role of the vaccine decision making body in the UK, the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation). Although the high profile that Andrew Lansley, shadow health secretary, has given to Public Health is superb, we disagree with the Conservative Party's suggestion that vaccine decisions should be moved to NICE [which assesses medicines and medical devices]. The complexity of decision making about vaccines, the fact that the JCVI covers the whole of the UK [whereas NICE just covers England and Wales] and the controversy surrounding some of NICE's decisions would, we felt, jeopardize the UK's successful immunisation programme.
However there is considerable room for improvement in the way the JCVI works regarding horizon scanning, speed, transparency, industry relations and cost-effective analysis. One of the most important changes would be to make the JCVI meetings public. Openness in health and science policy making, as well as the involvement of patient groups could only boost confidence in the decision making process. They shouldn't be immune from public scrutiny and we should for ever be grateful to Jenner and his milkmaids.
