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Amendment to national flu immunisation programme 2026 to 2027 letter

Updated 9 June 2026

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-flu-immunisation-programme-plan-2026-to-2027/amendment-to-national-flu-immunisation-programme-2026-to-2027-letter

9 June 2026

The national flu immunisation programme 2026 to 2027 letter (‘annual flu letter’), originally published on 26 February 2026, is hereby amended to reflect the following changes:

Community pharmacy delivery of flu vaccinations to children

To help support improvements in access and uptake, community pharmacies will be able to offer children flu vaccinations during the 2026 to 2027 flu season.

Two- and 3-year-olds

Community pharmacy service delivery for 2- and 3-year-olds will begin from 1 October 2026, supplementing the offer in general practice which will start vaccinating from the 1 September 2026, or as soon as vaccine is available.

Children in clinical risk groups

Community pharmacy service delivery for children in clinical risks groups (from 2 years to less than 18 years) will begin from 1 October 2026, supplementing the offer by school-aged immunisation services (SAIS) providers, and in general practice and who will both start vaccinating from the 1 September 2026, or as soon as vaccine is available. Note that children in clinical risk groups from 6 months to less than 2 years cannot be vaccinated by a community pharmacy.

School-aged children

Community pharmacy service delivery for school-aged children who missed the opportunity to be vaccinated by SAIS providers will begin from 1 December 2026, supplementing the offer from SAIS providers who will start vaccinating from the 1 September 2026, or as soon as vaccine is available.

Supporting information for community pharmacy provision

For community pharmacy contractors, the requirements of the service will be set out in the directions and the community pharmacy service specification which will be published in due course. These contractors should use the same legal frameworks (either patient group direction or vaccine group direction) as used for the rest of the national flu programme.

The recommended vaccines for children are set out in the 2026 to 2027 flu letter. Children vaccinated in community pharmacy must not be offered egg-cultured inactivated influenza vaccine (IIVe).

For vaccination of children in community pharmacies, live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) will be supplied centrally by NHS England through the Federated Data Platform (rather than by UKHSA through ImmForm) and is not reimbursable. Ordering controls will be in place to balance vaccine supply and demand. Information on these controls and other ordering advice for community pharmacies will be outlined in the directions and the community pharmacy service specification and set out further in NHS England (NHSE) operational guidance which will be cascaded through NHSE internal channels.

Cell-cultured inactivated influenza vaccine (IIVc) will not be supplied centrally to community pharmacies. It should be ordered from the manufacturer or wholesaler directly and will be reimbursed in line with the contractual arrangements outlined in the community pharmacy service specification, and as set out further in NHSE operational guidance, which will be cascaded through NHSE internal channels.

The recommended vaccines, supply and ordering for the general practice and school-aged elements of the children’s flu vaccination programme remain unchanged.

People experiencing homelessness

In June 2024 the JCVI advised that people experiencing homelessness (defined as “rough sleepers and those using homeless hostels or night-shelters, rather than the broader definitions of homelessness”) should be offered a seasonal flu vaccine, and it was agreed in March that those in this cohort aged 16 years and over should be included in the national flu programme from 1 October 2026. Eligibility of children under that age is outlined in the original version of the annual flu letter and has not changed. The Influenza Green Book chapter has been updated to reflect that people experiencing homelessness have been added to eligible risk groups. NHSE will issue further guidance on the addition of this cohort in due course.

Resources to support the programme

The annual flu collection on the GOV.UK website provides resources to support the 2026 to 2027 seasonal flu programme, including information and training resources for vaccinators.

These include:

Yours sincerely,

Dr Thomas Waite, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England

Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes, UK Health Security Agency

Caroline Temmink, Director of Vaccination, NHS England

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