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Ed Humpherson to Richard Pengelly, Department of Health, Northern Ireland: Number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the UK

Ed Humpherson to Richard Pengelly, Department of Health, Northern Ireland: Number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the UK

Dated
20 January 2021
Last updated on
20 January 2021
Sent by:
Ed Humpherson
Director General for Regulation, Office for Statistics Regulation
Sent to:
Richard Pengelly
Permanent Secretary, Department of Health (Northern Ireland)
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Ed Humpherson to Richard Pengelly, Department of Health, Northern Ireland - Number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the UK

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Number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered in the UK

Dear Mr Pengelly

Today we have written to organisations responsible for statistics on COVID-19 vaccinations across the UK. Vaccine statistics are of high public interest, so it is essential that they uphold the principles of trustworthiness, quality and value.

We welcome your provision of daily figures to enable the compilation of a UK total and figures for each administration in the UK Government coronavirus dashboard.

Since more details about vaccinations in Northern Ireland are being used in Ministerial statements, I expect the Department for Health to be able to release additional figures in an orderly and transparent way. It has been positive to see some information provided on vaccine type and where the vaccine has been delivered, but these outputs are not provided consistently.

Our letter to producers of COVID-19 vaccine statistics highlights several areas where we would like to see progress from all producers of vaccines statistics, including:

  • The publication of plans for development of these statistics as soon as possible
  • The need to address data and metadata gaps
  • The importance of producers across the UK working together to coordinate your statistics and discuss areas for further development to ensure consistency

I understand that the pressures on resources in your department mean it may take some time to deliver figures on an official platform. But it remains important that release times are consistent, and I hope you will support analysts as they seek to publish these important statistics on COVID-19 vaccinations. As you know, the advice of the Senior Statistician within the Department should always be sought in matters relating to statistics and data, and they should have sole authority for deciding the methods, standards and procedures and the content and timing of the release of official statistics.

I am copying this letter to Siobhan Carey, Chief Statistician for Northern Ireland, and Eugene Mooney, Senior Statistician at the Department for Health.

Yours sincerely

Ed Humpherson

Director General for Regulation