Inequalities in childhood pneumococcal vaccine uptake persist in England despite schedule change

Vaccine uptake data have been examined to assess the impact of moving from a "2+1" to a "1+1" Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) dose schedule on vaccine coverage and health inequalities among infants in England. Persistent inequalities remain a major barrier to achieving universal protection against life-threatening infections—reflecting findings from the UK Health Security Agency National Immunisation Program Health Equity Audit 2025.