Development of immunization policy and its implementation in the United Kingdom.

The U.K. immunization program is managed through a tightly connected process that links the ways policy is developed, submitted to independent expert review and recommendation, adopted into strategy, and implemented into practice. There is one advisory body for immunization. Its recommendations, once accepted by government, are centrally funded, and vaccines are provided at no cost to recipients. Although the present system has worked well, changes in health care management at the peripheral level mean that the immunization program will need to adapt to retain the health gains achieved. Rates of vaccine-preventable disease are at historically low levels, although challenges related to costs and effectiveness remain.