Groups eligible for influenza vaccination are based on the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and include older people, pregnant women, and those with certain underlying medical conditions.
Since 2013, influenza vaccination has been offered to children in a phased roll-out to provide both individual protection to the children themselves and reduce transmission across all age groups to protect vulnerable members of the population.
The expanded influenza vaccination programme that we had last year will continue in 2021/22 as we are likely to see both influenza and COVID-19 in circulation. This means that as a temporary measure the offer for 50 to 64 year olds will continue this year. As a temporary measure, the programme will also be extended in secondary school so that all those from years 7 to year 11 will also be offered vaccination.
Therefore, those eligible for NHS influenza vaccination in 2021/22 are:
- all children aged 2 to 15 (but not 16 years or older) on 31 August 2021
- those aged 6 months to under 50 years in clinical risk groups
- pregnant women
- those aged 50 years and over
- those in long-stay residential care homes
- carers
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- frontline health and social care staff employed by:
- a registered residential care or nursing home
- registered domiciliary care provider
- a voluntary managed hospice provider
- Direct Payment (personal budgets) and/or Personal Health Budgets, such as Personal Assistants.
All frontline health and social care workers are expected to have influenza vaccination to protect those they care for.
