Research and analysis

RSV vaccine coverage report in older adults for catch-up cohorts in England: October 2024

Updated 20 December 2024

Applies to England

Main points

The RSV vaccination programme was introduced in September 2024. The routine programme offers the vaccine to those turning 75 and patients remain eligible for the vaccine until their 80th birthday.

This report evaluates vaccine coverage in the catch-up cohorts aged 75 to 79 years old before 1 September 2024 and until 31 August 2025, again assessed at October 2024. The key conclusion is that:

As of 31 October 2024, the overall vaccine coverage in the catch-up cohort (adults aged 75 to 79 before the programme start date) reached 32.6% in October, following the initial 22.6% reported in the September interim report (1).

Introduction

The Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination programme for older adults was launched 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. The primary aim is to reduce severe illness, hospitalisations, and complications resulting from RSV infections among older adults especially those over the age of 75 (2).

This monthly report includes vaccine coverage data up to 31 October 2024 (1).

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

Methods

The older-adult RSV vaccination report will be released monthly, providing cumulative vaccination uptake since the start of the campaign. Data is collected through the Immunisation Information System (IIS), which holds denominator data and captures vaccination events from GP practices and participating community pharmacies across England, based on data provided by NHS England.

The reporting period for the current report is from 1 September to 31 October 2024. The data was extracted on 13 November 2024 to include vaccinations administered up to midnight of the last day of the reporting month (31 October 2024).

As defined in the Green Book chapter 27a (3), the routine cohort includes adults turning 75 years old on or after 1 September 2024, who become eligible for vaccination from their 75th birthday onwards. The catch-up cohorts consist of adults aged 75 to 79 before 1 September 2024, who remain eligible up until their 80th birthday, and those turning 80 in the first year of the programme, who remain eligible until 31 August 2025. The catch-up cohorts are defined by their birth year and age as of the programme start date.  A more detailed breakdown of the different cohorts can be found in Table 1.

This report currently focuses solely on the catch-up cohort. The routine cohort – defined as individuals turning 75 since the programme’s start date – are gradually becoming eligible as the vaccination programme progresses and have not yet had sufficient time to be notified and to present to a clinic for their vaccination. This report is therefore limited to the catch-up cohort to avoid the risk of presenting early and potentially misleading data that underestimates uptake in the routine cohort and overall eligible adult population.  A complete assessment of coverage in the routine cohort will be available once the whole cohort has become eligible and has had the opportunity to be vaccinated.

Data extraction notes:

1. Population estimates for denominator data and vaccination records were extracted from the Immunisation Information System (IIS) on 13 November 2024 for vaccine events up to the 31 October 2024.
2. The data for the new RSV programme relies on new data flows and is therefore provisional while enhanced data validation checks are being conducted.

Birth cohorts

Table 1. Birth range and RSV vaccine eligibiity dates for routine and catch-up cohorts of older populations on October 2024

Cohort group	Birth range of cohort	Age turned in September 2024
Routine cohort 1	Adults turning 75 years of age on or after 1 September 2024	75
Catch-up cohort 1	1 September 1948 to 31 August 1949	75
Catch-up cohort 2	1 September 1947 to 31 August 1948	76
Catch-up cohort 3	1 September 1946 to 31 August 1947	77
Catch-up cohort 4	1 September 1945 to 31 August 1946	78
Catch-up cohort 5	1 September 1944 to 31 August 1945	79

Results

The RSV vaccination programme for the older adults catch-up cohorts aged 75 to 79 before 1 September 2024 achieved a cumulative coverage rate of 32.6%.

Demographic Breakdown

Across the catch-up cohorts, the coverage by region, ethnicity and sex was as follows:

• regional vaccine coverage was highest in North East and Yorkshire (35.3%) and lowest in London (27.7%) (see Table 2)
• coverage varied by ethnic group and the highest coverage was reported among British and Mixed British (34.3%) and lowest amongst Pakistani or British Pakistani (11.6%) (see Table 4)
• coverage in males was 34.1% and in females was 31.3%

Table 2. Cumulative RSV vaccine coverage for older adults in the catch-up cohorts, measured at 31 October 2024

Cohort group	Birth range of cohort	Age turned in September 2024	Cumulative vaccine coverage (%)
Catch-up cohort 1	1 September 1948 to 31 August 1949	75	31.2
Catch-up cohort 2	1 September 1947 to 31 August 1948	76	31.5
Catch-up cohort 3	1 September 1946 to 31 August 1947	77	32.4
Catch-up cohort 4	1 September 1945 to 31 August 1946	78	33.2
Catch-up cohort 5	1 September 1944 to 31 August 1945	79	35.7

FIgure 1. Cumulative RSV vaccine coverage for older adults in the catch-up cohorts, measured at 31 October 2024

Table 3. RSV vaccine coverage for older adults the catch-up cohorts, measured in October 2024 by commissioning region

Commissioning region	RSV coverage (%)
London	27.7
North West	30.5
South West	31.7
Midlands	32.9
East of England	33.6
South East	34.1
North East and Yorkshire	35.3
Total	32.6

Table 4. RSV vaccine coverage for older adults the catch-up cohorts, measured in October 2024 by ethnicity

Ethnic group	RSV Coverage (%)
Asian or Asian British – Pakistani	11.6
Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi	12.7
Black or Black British – Caribbean	13.9
Black or Black British – African	14.1
Black or Black British – Any other Black background	15.1
Mixed – White and Black African	18.9
Mixed – White and Black Caribbean	19.2
Asian or Asian British – Any other Asian background	21.0
Other ethnic groups – Any other ethnic group	22.2
Asian or Asian British – Indian	23.0
Other ethnic groups – Chinese	23.1
Mixed – White and Asian	26.4
Mixed – Any other mixed background	26.6
White – Other	28.4
White – Irish	28.4
White – British	34.3

Discussion

Cumulative coverage in the catch-up cohorts of the RSV vaccination program for older adults has been for steadily increasing since the program’s inception. Coverage has risen from 22.6% in September 2024 to 32.6% by the end of October 2024. As the older adults remain eligible until their 80th birthday, it is expected that coverage in this cohort will increase progressively as they remain eligible for longer and have more opportunities to be vaccinated.

In addition, this report highlights that coverage varies by nearly 8 percentage points between regions and nearly 23 percentage points between ethnicities.

References

1. UKHSA (2024). ‘RSV vaccine: interim report on uptake of the new, older adult vaccination programme in England’. Health Protection Report volume 18, issue 9 (October)

2. UKHSA (July 2024). RSV Vaccination of older adults: information for healthcare practitioners

3. UKHSA (2024). Green Book chapter 27a: Respiratory syncytial virus