The government’s “autumn booster bailout” began on Monday, but ministers are understood to have cut the £11m budget earmarked for advertising to £4m. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) did not dispute the figures but said the government was looking at alternative ways to work with charities, industry and retailers to promote vaccinations. The development prompted claims of government complacency and highlights the financial pressures facing the NHS amid rising waiting times for elective surgery and cancer care. The new health secretary, Thérèse Coffey, who Liz Truss has also given the role of deputy prime minister, said on Wednesday that a priority for her was making sure people could get GP appointments. Truss said she would scrap a rise in national insurance which was to provide extra funding for the NHS, but Coffey insisted the shortfall would be covered. “Instead of having, in effect, a capped levy, we will fund it from general taxation, so the investment that will be made in health and social care will remain exactly the same,” Coffey said. Around 26 million people across England are eligible for an autumn booster shot, including the over 50s, people with weakened immune systems, health and social care workers, care home residents and people in houses. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said in July that “winter remains the season when the threat from Covid-19 is greatest” and that a wave of flu infections was also expected. Calls for a Covid takeover are set to hit the mats from this week, but a cut in funding for TV, radio and social media campaigns this autumn has officials in Whitehall worried. The WHO has warned that Europe is facing a new wave of Covid infection similar to the scale of last autumn. The European Commission even suggested that travel restrictions could be reimposed as it appealed to EU member states to increase uptake of Covid vaccines. In July, the House of Commons public accounts committee reported that nearly 3 million people in England had yet to receive a Covid vaccine, while another 1.5 million had only received one dose. Take-up was particularly low among pregnant women, with just 58% having received two doses by February this year. People of black, black British and Pakistani heritage were less than half as likely as those of white British descent to have booster shots. The committee had called for new approaches to address “the persistent low uptake seen in some ethnic groups”. Labour’s Wes Streeting, the shadow health and social care secretary, said: “Vaccines are the best way to protect people from getting sick and prevent the NHS from collapsing this winter. The government should encourage everyone who is eligible to come forward and protect themselves. “The government should bring back the ‘army of volunteers’ who helped develop the vaccine during the pandemic, to help take the pressure off the already overstretched health service.” A DHSC spokesman said the government could increase “activity” depending on the level of uptake in the coming weeks. He said: “We are committed to ensuring the right plans are in place for flu and Covid vaccines. “We are providing extra funding for vaccinations to ensure more people get their shots, with all over 50s being offered both Covid and flu – and we are urging everyone who is eligible to get their shot . “We are also using a number of different and targeted routes to actively promote the vaccine. This includes paid advertising and partnerships with charities and industry to reach our target audience, as well as text message reminders for NHS app users, alongside our annual flu vaccination campaign. “We will continue to monitor vaccine uptake and increase activity if and when necessary.”
