Winter planning – Flu Vaccination
The start of winter vaccination season is slowly creeping up on us and closer than you think, although the winter programme does not begin until the 1st of September, lots of organisation needs to take place before, so now is the time to start planning.
Key areas to consider include:
- How will you guarantee all those eligible for a vaccine are contacted and booked in?
- How will you staff your flu clinics?
- How will you ensure you have enough vaccines?
- How will you safely store your vaccines?
Patient Eligibility
The below groups will be eligible for a flu vaccine from 1 September 2025:
- Pregnant women
- All children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2025
- Primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
- Secondary school aged children (from Year 7 to Year 11)
- All children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years
From October 2025, exact start date to be confirmed by NHS England in due course:
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by Influenza: the green book, chapter 19)
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
- Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- Frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants
Further details are available in the National flu immunisation programme 2025 to 2026 letter
Recommended vaccines
Find the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Advice on influenza vaccines for 2025/26 here – JCVI Statement on Influenza Vaccines 2025-26
Previous years national vaccine uptake
From 1 September 2024 to 28 February 2025 in England, cumulative vaccine uptake in GPregistered patients was as follows:
- Aged 65 years and over was 74.9% (for reference this was 77.8% in 2023 to 2024)
- Aged 6 months to under 65 years in one or more clinical risk groups was 40.0% (for reference this was 41.4% in 2023 to 2024)
- Aged 2 and 3 years combined was 42.6% compared with 44.4% in 2023 to 2024
- Aged 2 years was 41.7 % compared with 44.1% in 2023 to 2024
- Aged 3 years was 43.5% compared with 44.6% in 2023 to 2024
- In pregnant women was 35.0%, compared with 32.1% in 2023 to 2024
The full report can be found here: Seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in GP patients in England: winter season 2024 to 2025
Providers are expected to deliver a 100% offer of the vaccine to eligible groups and should aim to equal or exceed last season’s (2023 to 2024) uptake for each group.
The full annual flu programme guidance (GOV.UK) can be found here – National Flu Immunisation Programme Plan 2025 to 2026
