HPR volume 18 issue 9: news (31 October)
Updated 20 December 2024
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RSV vaccine: interim report on uptake of the new, older adult vaccination programme in England
The primary aim of the older adults’ Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme is to provide protection from severe illness, hospitalisation and complications resulting from RSV infections. RSV is a significant cause of respiratory disease in older adults, and the risk of severe outcomes increases with age, particularly for those over the age of 75. The RSV adult vaccination programme was introduced in England in September 2024 as a single-dose vaccine for adults turning 75 years old, with a catch-up programme covering those up to 79 years of age (1).
The older adult programme forms part of a wider strategy to protect vulnerable populations, which includes vaccination of pregnant women in their third trimester (from 28 gestation weeks) to prevent severe RSV infection in infants (2).
Together, the maternal and older adult programmes aim to reduce the burden of RSV across vulnerable populations.
Eligibility for the RSV adult vaccination programme (vaccination cohorts)
The eligible populations for this vaccination programme are defined in the Green Book (3), as follows:
- adults turning 75 years old on or after the programme start date (1 September, 2024) will form the routine cohort
- all adults already 75 to 79 years old before the programme start date are eligible for the RSV vaccine and remain eligible up until their 80th and form the catch-up cohorts
- people turning 80 in the first year of the programme will be eligible for vaccination until 31 August 2025
Preliminary data collection
This report presents preliminary data collected between 1 and 30 September 2024, assessing vaccine uptake among adults in the catch-up cohorts who received their first dose of the RSV vaccine following the programme’s inception in September 2024. The data has been sourced from the Immunisation Information System (IIS), which holds denominator data and captures vaccination events from GP practices and participating community pharmacies across England from data provided by NHS England. The catch-up cohorts are defined by birth year and age as of the programme start date.
Vaccination uptake
During the reporting period (1 to 30 September, 2024), the total vaccination uptake among the catch-up cohort was 22.6% (4). Data for the entire routine cohort (adults turning 75 years old from the programme start date) will be included in the annual RSV report, to be published once all eligible individuals within the defined birth cohort have reached their 75th birthday.
Table 1. Vaccine uptake by birth cohort in the catch-up cohorts (1 September, 1944 to 31 August, 1949)
| Vaccination cohort | Birth cohort | Vaccine uptake |
|---|---|---|
| Catch-up cohort 1 | 1 September 1948 to 31 August 1949 | 21.3% |
| Catch-up cohort 2 | 1 September 1947 to 31 August 1948 | 21.5% |
| Catch-up cohort 3 | 1 September 1946 to 31 August 1947 | 22.3% |
| Catch-up cohort 4 | 1 September 1945 to 31 August 1946 | 23.2% |
| Catch-up cohort 5 | 1 September 1944 to 31 August 1945 | 25.7% |
Data quality and reporting
This data is provisional and subject to revision. Final figures for vaccine uptake, stratified by region, and ethnicity, will be published in due course. The current data offers a snapshot of the early stages of the programme and provides insight into the initial uptake of the vaccine rollout.
References/notes
1. UKHSA (July 2024). ‘RSV vaccination of older adults: Information for healthcare practitioners’.
2. Department of Health and Social Care (June 2024). ‘Introduction of new NHS vaccination programmes against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)’.
3. UKHSA (2024). Green Book chapter 27a: Respiratory syncytial virus.
4. Based on vaccination record data extracted from the IIS up to September 30, 2024.
Infection reports
Group A streptococcal infections: report on seasonal activity in England, 2024 to 2025
Laboratory confirmed cases of pertussis in England: annual report for 2023
Common animal-associated infections (England): second quarter 2024
Vaccine coverage reports in this issue
Prenatal pertussis vaccination coverage in England from April to June 2024
Meningococcal ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine coverage for adolescents in England, academic year 2022/23