Low child immunisation threatens herd immunity and economic welfare

As the government rolls out a vaccine against chicken pox, there are still concerns that low uptake of routine childhood jabs is creating negative externalities and dragging on the economy. With no major childhood vaccine in England hitting the WHO’s 95 % herd-immunity target in 2024/25, falling coverage undermines population welfare and increases public health costs, potentially raising NHS spending and reducing labour productivity through parents’ lost workdays caring for sick children. The £2 million home-vaccination pilot tries to correct market failure in access, but persistent low demand risks widening health inequalities and eroding the external benefits of broad immunisation.

Children from struggling families to be vaccinated at home - as immunisation rates drop | Politics News | Sky News

1.Explain the economic costs of below-herd-immunity vaccination levels in England, using examples from the article.

2. Using an MSB/MSC diagram, analyse why the free market underprovides childhood vaccinations.

3. Evaluate the likely success of the government’s policies to improve vaccination uptake.