NCL ICB has an ambitious target of significantly increasing flu vaccination uptake rates in NCL during the 2024-25 flu period, and it values all your efforts in ensuring your at-risk patients are protected against the flu virus this winter. 

The ICB has put together some resources that you might find useful to assist with raising awareness of the importance of the flu vaccine and having the highest possible uptake rates, therefore protecting your patients and increasing your practice income.

These include a range of resources available in English and other languages, such as a communications toolkit with a number of ready-to-go posts that you can share on your social media channels, translated posters for display in your surgery, and cohort-specific posters for targeting your communications. The toolkit also contains key messages that you can use when calling eligible patients with an invitation to book. 

Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England (NHSE) expect practices to invite 100% of all eligible patients.

Flu 2024-25 resources in other languages

There are some resources available in other languages which can be ordered for free:

Autumn flu and COVID-19 vaccine programmes

As stated in the National Flu Immunisation Programme 2024 to 2025 letter, flu vaccinations for pregnant women, and all children’s flu cohorts, will commence from Sunday 1 September 2024.

The main flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaign will commence on Thursday 3 October 2024.

Vaccination of all COVID-19 cohorts will start on 3 October at the same time as all other adult flu cohorts, as set out in the flu letter.

An October start date reflects JCVI advice that the flu vaccine’s effectiveness can wane over time in adults and so a later start date is preferable.

The advice differs for children, because flu circulates in this age group earlier and protection lasts longer. 

The start date for COVID-19 vaccinations aligns to flu to support co-administration of flu and COVID-19.

Payment will only be made for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations administered from the service commencement date onwards.

The ICB anticipates that most flu and COVID-19 vaccinations should be completed by Friday 20 December 2024.

Outreach activities for COVID-19 vaccination should continue to be delivered to underserved communities until Friday 31 January 2025. Flu vaccinations will be available until Monday 31 March 2025.

Who should have the flu vaccine?

The below groups will be eligible for a flu vaccine from 1 September 2024:

  • those aged 65 years and over
  • those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, chapter 19 (Influenza))
  • pregnant women
  • all children aged 2-3 years on 31 August 2024
  • primary school aged children (from Reception to Year 6)
  • 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
  • secondary school aged children (including those in clinical risk groups) will be offered immunisation by the school age immunisation service

There remains a need to focus on immunising two and three-year-olds, as well as ensuring that all practice staff have the vaccine. 

Where practice staff are immunised in other settings, it is important that this information is included in the ImmForm submissions to reflect how many primary care staff have been vaccinated. 

NCL ICB will be working with local authorities and other partners to support the national winter vaccinations campaign, highlighting the key messages around the importance of flu vaccinations and COVID-19 boosters for at-risk groups, and poliovirus and MMR vaccinations for one-to-nine-year-olds. 

The ICB will also be promoting general advice for staying well over the winter months.

National flu programme

The national flu programme is a coordinated and evidence-based approach to planning for the demands of flu across England.

Each year, the NHS prepares for the unpredictability of flu. For most healthy people, flu is an unpleasant but usually self-limiting disease, with recovery generally taking place within a week. However, there is a particular risk of severe illness from catching flu for:

  • older people
  • the very young
  • pregnant women
  • those with underlying disease, particularly chronic respiratory or cardiac disease
  • those who are immunosuppressed.

Review date: Friday, 15 August 2025