To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) any measures his Department is taking to ascertain the number of people affected by a serious adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine; and (ii) the number of people who have applied to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

All vaccines and medicines have some side effects, although not everybody gets them, and the vast majority of side effects are normally mild and short lasting. Unfortunately, in some rare cases, an individual may be injured due to receiving a vaccine. The number of actual injuries proven to be linked to vaccination is extremely small.

The monitoring of vaccine safety including adverse vaccine reactions is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). My department follows the advice of MHRA and would take immediate action if the MHRA advised there were indications that a vaccine (or any medicine) was causing an unusual number of serious adverse reactions.

In relation to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS), my Department (along with the other devolved health departments) plays no role in the VDPS, or any of the decisions reached in respect of individual cases. Requests for the number of people from Northern Ireland who have applied to the Scheme should be directed to the Business Services Authority, which is part of NHS England, who administer the scheme on behalf of the whole of the United Kingdom.