Guidance

Appendix 1: Glossary

Published 10 June 2026

Glossary

Call and recall

A systematic approach to inviting eligible individuals for vaccination (“call”) and following up those who do not respond or attend (“recall”).

Catch‑up immunisation

A vaccination offered to individuals who have missed one or more routine vaccine doses, aiming to bring them up to date with recommended schedules.

Co‑design

Working with communities and stakeholders to design interventions, services or materials, with shared influence over decisions but not necessarily shared ownership of delivery.

Co-production

A deeper form of partnership where communities and professionals share power, responsibility and decision‑making throughout design, delivery and evaluation.

Community engagement

The process of building and sustaining relationships with communities to listen, learn and work together to improve health outcomes and reduce inequalities.

Consultation

Seeking views, feedback or opinions from communities or stakeholders on proposed plans or decisions, without shared decision‑making authority.

COVER programme

The COVER programme is a national surveillance system that monitors childhood vaccination coverage in England, providing routine data to support local and national action.

Coverage

The proportion of an eligible population who have received the recommended vaccine doses by a specified age or time point. Coverage is typically reported as a percentage and reflects overall population protection.

Culturally competent or culturally appropriate

Approaches, services or communications that recognise and respect people’s cultural identities, values and experiences, and are adapted to meet those needs effectively.

Health inequalities

Measurable differences in health outcomes or access between groups.

Health inequities

Those differences that are unfair, avoidable and driven by social, economic or structural factors.

ImmForm

Immform is a secure online portal used in England for the collection and reporting of immunisation data for several programmes, primarily drawing on GP records.

Immunisation

The process by which a person becomes protected against an infectious disease, usually through vaccination. The term refers both to the act of delivering vaccines and the wider system of prevention, surveillance and protection.

Immunisation equity

Ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to be protected by immunisation, with additional support provided where barriers exist, so that differences in coverage or outcomes that are avoidable and unjust are reduced.

Inclusion health groups

Diverse population groups who share common experiences such as structural discrimination, social exclusion and stigma and are often not accounted for in electronic records. Inclusion health groups include people experiencing homelessness, refugees, migrants in vulnerable circumstances, people seeking asylum, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people who use drugs and/or alcohol and people with experience of the justice system.

Lived experience

Direct personal experience of social disadvantage, exclusion or barriers to accessing services.

Making Every Contact Count (MECC)

An approach that encourages staff and volunteers across health, care and partner organisations to use routine interactions as opportunities to support positive health behaviours, including immunisation.

Non‑extractive engagement

Engagement that avoids taking time, knowledge or stories from communities without benefit or feedback, and instead ensures reciprocity, respect and shared value.

Opportunistic vaccination

Vaccination offered during a routine or unrelated contact with health or care services, where a person is eligible but has not yet been immunised.

Outreach immunisation

Vaccination delivered outside of traditional healthcare settings (for example, in community venues, mobile clinics or outreach services) to improve access for underserved populations.

Protected characteristics

As defined in the Equality Act 2010, the characteristics protected in law from discrimination, including age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership.

Routine immunisation programme

Vaccinations offered systematically to defined population groups (for example, by age or clinical risk) as part of the national immunisation schedule.

See the routine immunisation schedule for the current vaccinations offered in this way.

Seasonal immunisation

Vaccination delivered during specific periods of increased risk, such as influenza or COVID‑19 vaccination campaigns, typically repeated annually.

Underserved populations

Groups who experience barriers to accessing healthcare services, resulting in unmet health needs, but who may not fall under formal inclusion health definitions.

Uptake

The proportion of an eligible population that receives a vaccine within a defined period of time. Uptake is often used to assess programme performance or the impact of an intervention.

Trauma‑informed approach

An approach that recognises the impact of trauma on individuals and communities and seeks to avoid re‑traumatisation by promoting safety, choice, empowerment and trust.

Trust (in a public health context)

Confidence that health systems, professionals and messages are credible, fair and act in people’s best interests. Trust strongly influences engagement with immunisation and is shaped by relationships, previous experiences and transparency.

Trusted messenger

A person or organisation who is perceived by a community as credible, relatable and reliable and whose messages are more likely to be accepted.

Trusted settings

Locations where people feel safe, comfortable and respected (for example, community centres, faith venues or schools), which can reduce barriers to engagement and access.

Vaccination

The administration of a vaccine to stimulate an individual’s immune response and provide protection against a specific infectious disease.

Vaccine preventable disease (VPD)

An infectious disease for which an effective vaccine is available as part of the national immunisation programme or targeted offers (for example, measles or pertussis).