内容摘要：Funds managed by Visit Scotland and Scottish government helped to cover the cost.

Funds managed by Visit Scotland and Scottish government helped to cover the cost.

In 2023 around 70% of UK adults said that vaccinations were safe and effective, down sharply from 90% in 2018, according to research from the Vaccine Confidence Project, run by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).This is very much part of a worldwide trend with 52 of the 55 countries polled seeing a drop in confidence since 2019.

And regular polling carried out by YouGov suggests adults are increasingly likely to say that vaccines have harmful side effects that are not being disclosed to the public. The proportion saying that statement is "probably" or "definitely" true rose to 30% in 2024 from 19% in 2019.At the same time, childhood vaccination rates have fallen further below recommended levels over the last five years, continuing a longer-term trend."Vaccines are always our best defence against infectious, communicable diseases," adds Dr Williams. "A few percentage drops in the proportion of children covered can make a real difference."

So why is there increased distrust in vaccination - and can anything be done to change that?has already looked at pandemic planning and the impact on the NHS. This week, though, it opened hearings into the vaccine rollout across the UK, from take-up of the jabs, to their safety, to the way they were marketed to the public.

Dr Helen Wall, a GP from Bolton, saw the shift in vaccines attitudes over the pandemic first-hand.

In May 2021 the town became the centre of national attention; Covid infections more than quadrupled in three weeks driven by the new Delta variant. A huge vaccine drive was ordered with army medics staffing mobile units. Dr Wall led the rollout, as clinical director of the local NHS commissioning board.In principle, it could mean either tax rises or spending restraint.

In practice, given the announcement of a significant increase in employers' National Insurance rates in October, the government's view is that it would have to mean spending restraint - Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, practically said as much in the Commons today.To be clear, spending restraint would not necessarily mean spending cuts, just much lower spending increases than would otherwise happen.

This is where economics could collide with politics fast.It's all very well for the Treasury to take measures to soothe the bond markets, where government debt is traded.