The National Sheep Association (NSA) has welcomed the publication of a new Statement of Intent on UK Veterinary Vaccine Availability, from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), as an important step towards securing resilient access to vital veterinary vaccines.

NSA is particularly proud to have played a leading role in highlighting the issue of vaccine supply with concerns first raised by the sheep sector in an initial letter to the VMD. NSA believes this will have helped open the door to the conversations that have now resulted in this significant commitment and encouraged other organisations and stakeholders to engage in the process. NSA has followed this up with active involvement in two roundtable meetings that informed the newly published Statement of Intent.

NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker says: "Timely access to effective veterinary vaccines is essential to protect animal health and welfare, safeguard food security, and support the principles of One Health. Vaccination is also one of the most powerful tools we have to reduce reliance on antibiotics and tackle the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance. Recognising the challenges with supply and innovation, and setting out a cross-sector framework for solutions, is a really significant step forward. NSA is pleased to see the sheep sector’s concerns recognised and taken seriously at this level."

The VMD’s Statement of Intent highlights two key concerns that stakeholders, including NSA, have raised in recent years:

Supply not meeting demand for existing vaccines;
A lack of development and innovation for new vaccines to address current and emerging animal health challenges.

The publication sets out a strategic framework for multi-stakeholder action that will underpin the development of a five-year UK action plan, to be published within the next 12 months. The plan will define deliverables, timelines, governance, and key performance indicators, ensuring progress can be measured.

Mr Stocker continues: "NSA is proud to have contributed to the development of this framework and will continue to play an active role in shaping the five-year action plan. Getting this issue recognised at a national level, and connected to wider international initiatives on animal health, is hugely significant. There is still some way to go, but this is a strong foundation for collaborative, evidence-based solutions that will secure sustainable vaccine access for farmers."

NSA encourages sheep farmers and the wider livestock sector to follow developments closely and engage with this process as the action plan takes shape.

Find out more about the announcement on the gov.uk website here.