The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) exists to protect people from health threats. It prevents and reduces the harm caused by infectious diseases, chemicals, radiation, the health effects of climate change and a range of environmental hazards including air quality. UKHSA provides scientific, public health and operational leadership, working with local, regional, national and global partners to protect the public’s health and build the nation’s health security capability. 

The agency oversees the National Immunisation Programme to ensure programme quality and safety. It monitors and encourages vaccine uptake to ensure the population is protected from preventable diseases, responds to outbreaks of infectious disease and prepares to respond to any future pandemic.

The vaccines industry is central to the development and manufacture of vaccines, making commercial partnerships a strategic priority for UKHSA, which is reflected in both the UKHSA’s strategic plan and Commercial Strategy. Working with the vaccines industry has the potential to advance science and enable delivery at pace and scale. 

To support the success of this important work with the vaccines industry, UKHSA wants to understand more about public perspectives on the benefits, risks and impacts of different forms of collaboration. 

Success of the National Immunisation Programme depends upon achieving high levels of uptake. While this is high in the general population, there is significant variation in vaccine coverage across different communities. This is influenced by many factors, both practical and psychological, including trust in the actors in the vaccines system. Consideration of the perspectives of these communities will therefore be an important aspect of this dialogue. 

The public dialogue, delivered and designed by Thinks Insight & Strategy and The Social Agency, and evaluated by Sophie Reid and Ellie Mendez-Sayer, will engage 100 members of the public. It has been designed to ensure equity and includes an advisory group composed of people from and with connections to communities with lower vaccine uptake. This includes community-led peer research, and separate focus groups within the national dialogues for participants to share views with those with shared characteristics or lived experience.

The aim of the dialogue is to support UKHSA decision makers when collaborating with industry. This includes outputs formulated to enable public attitudes, including benefits and impacts on public trust, to inform current and future thinking. This will support UKHSA decision makers to consider this evidence base, noting that decisions will also be informed by a wider range of factors, such as clinical evidence, government policy, scientific advancement, cost-effectiveness and broader ethical and legal considerations.