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Vaccine update: issue 357, April 2025

Updated 30 April 2025

Applies to England

European Immunisation Week Special

From 27 April to 3 May will be European Immunisation week (EIW). The WHO European Region celebrates EIW every year to promote awareness of the role immunisation plays in preventing diseases and protecting life. This year’s EIW will highlight the urgent need to achieve high and equitable vaccination coverage in every community to prevent outbreaks of these diseases now and in the future under the theme Immunisation for all is Humanly Possible. The EIW campaign will disseminate information about vaccines and the importance of leaving no one behind in efforts to protect public health through immunisation. Building upon recent and established partnerships, this year’s EIW activities will further leverage collaborative initiatives with young professionals and youth organizations dedicated to promoting immunisation. Campaign materials for EIW are available to download from the WHO website. These include Social media tiles, factsheets and banners. These are free to download and use to promote EIW.

Easter travel and vaccinations

Easter is a great time to travel but it is important for people to be aware of the health risks when travelling abroad. Rabies can be a key risk travelling if they come into contact with animals and bats. UKHSA and the National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC) have an information leaflet about rabies for travellers on the health publications website. It is important that all travellers check whether rabies is present in the place they are visiting. This information can be found on the TravelHealthPro country information pages. Preexposure vaccination may be appropriate for some travellers depending on where they are travelling to and what activities they will be doing there. Further information is available in the Green Book. In addition to rabies, there are other infections to be aware of when travelling abroad. Meningitis is a key risk when travelling abroad with Meningococcal disease, serotype W recently reported in Saudi Arabia and relevant for travellers for Hajj. This can be a serious illness but vaccination is available in the UK with the MenACWY vaccine. It is important to make sure you are up to date on vaccinations prior to travel. More information on the MenACWY vaccine is available on health publications. While not a new disease, malaria is still a significant risk when going abroad. It is endemic across many countries so it is important to check the status of the country prior to visiting on the NaTHNaC website. Leaflets are available explaining how to protect from mosquito bites which can be ordered or downloaded from the health publication website. This is also translated into a number of languages. Speak to a GP as they can recommend precautions to take before travelling. Measles is always a major risk travelling abroad so being up to date with your MMR vaccination is a great way of staying safe abroad. It is never to late to get an MMR booster. Leaflets are available on MMR vaccinations on the health publications website.

UKHSA webinar: upcoming changes to the routine childhood immunisation schedule (11 June 2025, 14:00 to 15:15)

On Wednesday 11 June 2025, 14:00 to 15:15, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Immunisation Team will be hosting a webinar to inform you of the significant changes to the routine childhood vaccination schedule and the selective hepatitis B (HepB) programme occurring from July 2025 and January 2026, including the introduction of a new routine vaccination appointment at 18 months of age. This webinar is aimed at health professionals involved in the commissioning and delivery of childhood immunisations including those working in primary care, screening and immunisation teams, health visiting teams and integrated care boards (ICB). A full agenda will follow.

Sign up for the webinar

Register your interest for attending this webinar

This webinar will be recorded, and the recording and slides will be shared with all registered attendees. If you are unable to attend on 11 June but still want to receive the recording, please fill out the form so we can make sure to send it to you. Please share details of this webinar with your teams and anyone working on delivering or promoting the national infant immunisation programmes.

Further details:

• For any logistical or events questions about the webinars, please email externalaffairs@ukhsa.gov.uk
• For clinical queries please email immunisation@ukhsa.gov.uk
• For any operational queries, please contact your NHS England Regional Public Health Commissioning Team

RSV vaccination programme reduces hospital admissions

Early data from new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme shows a 30% reduction in hospital admissions among vaccinated older adults in England. The introduction of a programme last winter was designed to vaccinate two groups: pregnant women to protect their babies, and older adults aged 75 to 79.

Analysis carried out by UKHSA and published in The Lancet this week found that that even with approximately 40% vaccine uptake, eligible 75 to 79-year-olds experienced 30% fewer hospital admissions than would have occurred without the vaccination.

Our analysis clearly demonstrates the excellent benefit of RSV vaccination for older people in avoiding severe illness, with a direct impact on reducing hospital admissions and the benefits will increase as more people take up their vaccine.

Conall Watson, Consultant Epidemiologist at UKHSA

The findings are particularly important as preliminary data from the Hospital-based Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (HARISS) shows that approximately 1 in 10 older people admitted with RSV die within 30 days. Currently, 39% of women giving birth in England in October had received an RSV vaccine. UKHSA will publish data on the impact of the maternal programme later this year, though early evidence from similar programmes in countries like Argentina shows a 70% reduction in RSV hospital admissions in infants up to 6 months of age.

This should be a real moment of celebration for us as a public health community: a clear signal of an intervention which can make a qualitative and quantifiable impact on people’s health, but which also reduces pressures the NHS routinely faces, especially in the winter.

Jenny Harries, in her opening address to UKHSA Conference 2025

RSV leaflets

Available in the following languages from the health publications website: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Dari, Estonian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Nepali, Panjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish and Yoruba.

National Immunisation Network Conference 2025

We are pleased to announce more agenda items have been added for the 12th National Immunisation Network (NIN) Conference on 17 and 18 June 2025. These include updates on the infant vaccination schedule, reflections on the RSV programme and reflections and predictions from the JCVI chair. Places are still available so remember to book your slot. Visit the NIN 2025 site to book your place.

New Publications

COVID-19 Spring Vaccination Resources

The updated version of the COVID-19 spring vaccination leaflet is available on the health publications website and will soon be able to order. This leaflet explains the eligibility criteria, the vaccines which will be offered as well as side effects. Translations and accessible versions will be available shortly. Remember to order stickers and record cards from the Health Publications website.

Hepatitis B Vaccine aide memoire

Updated guidance for healthcare workers is now available on the hepatitis B vaccination schedule for babies born to mothers with hepatitis B infection. It acts as a reminder of the doses and testing schedule. This is available on the health publications website.

New stickers available to order

Following the popularity of the existing immunisation programme stickers there are now 2 new designs available to order from the health publications website: IMMBEAR1, IMMBTFL1, IMMSEA01 and IMMSPACE01.

Vaccine supply

Routine vaccination programme

Attention all ImmForm customers – Early May Bank Holiday deliveries

Due to the Early May Bank Holiday, there will be no deliveries or order processing by Movianto UK on Monday 5 May 2025. See the table below for your revised order and delivery days, and the additional information for offshore and COVID vaccine customers.

All customers should prepare for the break in deliveries and order accordingly.

Ensure you have enough room in your fridge for any additional vaccine that you order in advance of this holiday period, bearing in mind the recommendation that only two to four weeks of vaccine stock should be held locally.

Please be advised that no emergency or out of schedule deliveries can be arranged for ImmForm customers who fail to place their orders in good time.

Early May bank holiday

Delivery date	Order cut-off date	Order cut-off time	Notes
Monday 28 April 2025	Thursday 24 April 2025	11:55am	N/A
Tuesday 29 April 2025	Friday 25 April 2025	11:55am	N/A
Wednesday 30 April 2025	Monday 28 April 2025	11:55am	N/A
Thursday 1 May 2025	Tuesday 29 April 2025	11:55am	N/A
Friday 2 May 2025	Wednesday 30 April 2025	11:55am	N/A
Monday 5 May 2025	Early May Bank Holiday	Closed	No deliveries or order processing
Tuesday 6 May 2025	Thursday 1 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Wednesday 7 May 2025	Friday 2 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Thursday 8 May 2025	Tuesday 6 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Friday 9 May 2025	Wednesday 7 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Monday 12 May 2025	Thursday 8 May 2025	11:55am	N/A

Offshore customers:

• Isle of Wight and Isle of Man: See the table above for your revised order and delivery days
• Jersey, Guernsey, Shetland, Stornoway and Orkney: the first ‘hand to the courier’ day after the Early May Bank Holiday is Tuesday 6 May, with the first ‘final mile’ delivery day being Wednesday 7 May. The order cut off for this is Thursday 1 May

COVID vaccine customers:

Pfizer thawed vaccine will be available to be delivered from Tuesday 6 May, deliveries of Spikevax and Pfizer Frozen vaccine will resume from Wednesday 7 May.

COVID vaccine offshore customers

The first ‘hand to the courier’ day after the Early May Bank Holiday is Tuesday 6 May, with the first ‘final mile’ delivery day of Pfizer thawed vaccine being Wednesday 7 May. The order cut off for this is Thursday 1 May. Deliveries of Spikevax and Pfizer frozen vaccine will resume on Thursday 8 May.

Attention all ImmForm customers – Late May Bank Holiday deliveries

Due to the Late May Bank Holiday, there will be no deliveries or order processing by Movianto UK on Monday 26 May 2025. See the table below for your revised order and delivery days, and the additional information for offshore and COVID vaccine customers.

All customers should prepare for the break in deliveries and order accordingly.

Ensure you have enough room in your fridge for any additional vaccine that you order in advance of this holiday period, bearing in mind the recommendation that only two to four weeks of vaccine stock should be held locally.

Please be advised that no emergency or out of schedule deliveries can be arranged for ImmForm customers who fail to place their orders in good time.

Late May bank holiday

Delivery date	Order cut-off date	Order cut-off time	Notes
Monday 26 May 2025	Late May Bank Holiday	Closed	No deliveries or order processing
Tuesday 27 May 2025	Thursday 22 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Wednesday 28 May 2025	Friday 23 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Thursday 29 May 2025	Tuesday 27 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Friday 30 May 2025	Wednesday 28 May 2025	11:55am	N/A
Monday 6 June 2025	Thursday 29 May 2025	11:55am	N/A

Offshore customers:

• Isle of Wight and Isle of Man: See the table above for your revised order and delivery days
• Jersey, Guernsey, Shetland, Stornoway and Orkney: the first ‘hand to the courier’ day after Late May Bank Holiday is Tuesday 27 May, with the first ‘final mile’ delivery day being Wednesday 28 May. The order cut off for this is Thursday 22 May

COVID vaccine customers

Pfizer thawed vaccine will be available to be delivered from Tuesday 27 May, deliveries of Spikevax and Pfizer Frozen vaccine will resume from Wednesday 28 May

COVID vaccine offshore customers

The first hand to the courier day after the Late May Bank Holiday is Tuesday 27 May, with the first ‘final mile’ delivery day of Pfizer thawed vaccine being Wednesday 28 May. The order cut off for this is Thursday 22 May. Deliveries of Spikevax and Pfizer frozen vaccine will resume on Thursday 29 May.

Vaccine Supply

Routine vaccination programme

Change of vaccine brand for the pre-school booster diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and polio (dTaP/IPV) vaccination

The vaccine brand used for the pre-school booster diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and polio (dTaP/IPV) vaccination is changing from Boostrix-IPV® to REPEVAX®. The vaccines are clinically equivalent, and continue to be offered at 3 years 4 months of age, and to children up to 10 years of age who have not yet received it. Please continue to order and administer Boostrix-IPV® until ImmForm and local stockholdings deplete.

REPEVAX® vaccine is now available to order via ImmForm. High-level ordering controls are in place to reduce the risk of ordering errors only. These are not intended to restrict activity.

REPEVAX® vaccine ordered via ImmForm will be supplied as a single dose pack, containing one pre-filled syringe of vaccine and a patient information leaflet (PIL). The pack does not contain a needle for administration. Guidance on the choice of needle size can be found in the Green Book Chapter 4. Needles should be obtained locally.

Please add REPEVAX® to your routine ImmForm order where possible, rather than creating additional orders.

To minimise wastage due to fridge failures, please order no more than 2 weeks’ worth of stock.

Details about the pre-school booster dTaP/IPV vaccination programme is published in the Green Book Chapter 24.

Further details about REPEVAX® vaccine can be found in the PIL.

Contact the helpdesk@immform.org.uk for ordering queries.

Change of vaccine brand for meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y (MenACWY) vaccination

The vaccine brand used for meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y (MenACWY) vaccination has changed from Nimenrix® to MenQuadfi®. The vaccines are clinically equivalent. Please continue to administer Nimenrix® until local stockholdings deplete.

MenQuadfi® vaccine is now available to order via ImmForm. High-level ordering controls are in place to reduce the risk of ordering errors only. These are not intended to restrict activity.

MenQuadfi® vaccine ordered via ImmForm is supplied as a single dose pack, containing one vial of vaccine and a PIL. The pack does not contain a needle or a syringe for administration. Guidance on the choice of needle size can be found in the Green Book Chapter 4. Needles and syringes should be obtained locally.

MenQuadfi® and Nimenrix® vaccines and are packed in different sized cartons. Please ensure you have enough fridge capacity before placing any orders. To help with planning storage requirements, the dimensions are:

• MenQuadfi® is 58 x 32 x 45mm (H x W x D)
• Nimenrix® was 57 x 27 x 135mm (H x W x D)

Please add MenQuadfi® to your routine ImmForm order where possible, rather than creating additional orders.

To minimise wastage due to fridge failures, please order no more than 2 weeks’ worth of stock.

Details about the meningococcal vaccination programme is published in the Green Book chapter 22.

Further details about MenQuadfi® vaccine can be found on the PIL.

Contact the helpdesk@immform.org.uk for ordering queries.

Vaccines for the 2024 to 2025 children’s flu programme supplied by UKHSA

All live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) Fluenz® supplied by UKHSA for the 2024/25 children’s programme has now expired. All doses of the Cell Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine (Surface Antigen, Inactivated) (QIVc) supplied by UKHSA expires on 31 May 2025.

Please ensure that all expired children’s flu vaccines are disposed of in line with local policies and recorded through the ImmForm stock incident page.

Influenza vaccines for the 2025/26 season

Information on all influenza vaccines that will be marketed in the UK for the 2025/26 season are available on the flu vaccination page on GOV.UK.

The impact of changes to opening hours on routine vaccine deliveries

Please consider temporary changes to opening times when placing ImmForm orders. Orders should only be placed for days when your site is open and capable of receiving them. If you are aware of a scheduled site closure, please refrain from placing an order for that date. In case of a one-off closure, consider rescheduling your order for the week before or after. This approach will contribute to improved overall efficiencies and enhance delivery performance for the benefit of all customers.

It is not possible to accommodate one-off changes to delivery days. Customers should report long-term changes to the days and times when they can accept deliveries, such as routine training days and closures, by contacting Movianto UK Customer Care on MoviantoUK.NHSCC@movianto.com and 01234 587207. This should not be used to report short-term changes due to absence or holidays.

DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccine ordering

Supplies of both DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccines Infanrix hexa® and Vaxelis® continue to be available to order for the routine infant primary immunisations programme.

Orders for Infanrix hexa® remain unrestricted. Customers in England and Wales may order up to 20 packs of Vaxelis® per ImmForm account per week. Customers in Scotland should refer to their local ordering restrictions.

The ImmForm stockholding of Vaxelis® is expected to deplete during early summer 2025, after which time only Infanrix hexa® will be supplied.

Vaxelis® and Infanrix hexa® vaccines are considered interchangeable, but where possible and if local stock allows, it is preferable that the same DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccine be used for all three doses of the primary course. ImmForm customers may want to consider the forthcoming depletion of Vaxelis® when ordering DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccines, to allow for infants already started on a particular course. However, vaccination should never be delayed because the vaccine used for previous doses is not known or unavailable.

Providers should not order more than two weeks’ worth of stock to minimise wastage due to fridge failures. For assistance, please contact the ImmForm Helpdesk at helpdesk@immform.org.uk.

The European Union (EU) Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) will not apply in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2025

From 1 January 2025, the European Union (EU) Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) will no longer apply in Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework agreement removes any EU FMD packaging, labelling and barcode requirements for medicines distributed in Northern Ireland.

From 1 January 2025, customers across the UK will no longer have access to the EU database to verify or decommission unique identifier (UI) codes and will be unable to scan FMD barcodes in at any stage of the supply chain.

From 1 January 2025, customers in Northern Ireland are not required, nor will they have the capability, to verify medicines using the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS SecurMed).

MMR vaccine ordering

M-M-RvaxPro vaccine should be ordered for all MMR vaccinations, unless a patient requires a porcine gelatine-free MMR vaccine. ImmForm customers in England and Wales may order M-M-RvaxPro vaccine without restriction.

In addition, ImmForm customers in England and Wales may order up to ten porcine gelatine-free Priorix vaccines per account per week.

ImmForm customers in Scotland should refer to their local ordering restrictions.

Both MMR vaccines may only be ordered for outbreak purposes when this is part of a national catch-up campaign.

Vaccine supply

Non-routine vaccine supply

Hepatitis A vaccine

Adult

• GSK: supply of Havrix Adult PFS singles and packs of 10 are currently available
• Sanofi Pasteur: Avaxim PFS singles are currently available. Avaxim packs of 10 is currently available
• MSD: VAQTA Adult is available

Paediatric

• GSK: supply of Havrix Paediatric singles and packs of 10 are currently available.
• MSD: VAQTA Paediatric is available
• Sanofi Pasteur: Avaxim Junior singles are currently available

Hepatitis B vaccine

Adult

• GSK: Engerix B PFS singles and packs of 10 are currently available
• GSK: Supply of Fendrix is currently available
• MSD: HBVAXPRO 10 μg is available
• MSD: HBVAXPRO 40 μg is available
• Valneva: PreHevbri is no longer marketed in the UK

Paediatric

• GSK: Supplies of Engerix B Paediatric singles is currently available
• MSD: HBVAXPRO 5μg is available

Combined hepatitis A and B vaccine

• GSK: Twinrix Adult singles and packs of 10 are available
• GSK: Twinrix Paediatric is currently available
• GSK: Ambirix is available

Combined hepatitis A and typhoid vaccine

• Sanofi Pasteur: Viatim is now a discontinued product and no longer available for sale

Typhoid vaccine

• Sanofi Pasteur: Typhim singles and packs of 10 are available
• Bavarian Nordic: Vivotif is available

Rabies vaccine

• Bavarian Nordic: Rabipur is currently available
• Sanofi Pasteur: Verorab is currently available

Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV)

• MSD: Supply of Pneumovax 23 (PPV23) PFS is available

Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate Vaccine (PCV)

• Pfizer: Prevenar 13 is currently available
• MSD: Vaxneuvance is currently available

Varicella zoster vaccine

• GSK: VARILRIX is currently available
• MSD: VARIVAX is available
• MSD: ZOSTAVAX is a discontinued product

Diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis (inactivated) vaccine

• Sanofi Pasteur: Revaxis is available

Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (acellular) and poliomyelitis (inactivated) vaccine

• GSK: Supply of Boostrix-IPV is currently available
• Sanofi Pasteur: Repevax is currently available

MMR

• MSD: MMR Vaxpro is currently available
• GSK: Priorix is currently available

Meningitis ACWY vaccine

• GSK: Menveo is currently available
• Pfizer: Nimenrix is currently available
• Sanofi Pasteur: MenQuadfi is available

Yellow fever

• Sanofi Pasteur: Stamaril is available

Human papillomavirus vaccine

• MSD: GARDASIL has been discontinued
• MSD: Gardasil 9 is currently available
• GSK: Cervarix has been discontinued

Cholera vaccine

• Valneva: Dukoral is available
• Bavarian Nordic: Vaxchora is available

Japanese encephalitis vaccine

• Valneva: Ixiaro is available

Meningococcal group B vaccine

• GSK: Bexsero is currently available

Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Hib vaccine and poliomyelitis

• GSK: Infanrix IPV+Hib is currently available

Hib + meningococcal group C combined vaccine

• GSK: Menitorix is currently available

Live attenuated rotavirus vaccine

• GSK: Rotarix is currently available

Herpes zoster vaccine

• GSK: Shingrix is currently available

Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

• Sanofi Pasteur: Adacel is available to order without restrictions

Dengue tetravalent vaccine

• Takeda: Qdenga is currently available

Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

• Pfizer: Abrysvo is currently available