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Vaccine update: issue 358, May 2025

Published 30 May 2025

Applies to England

Childhood schedule changes bipartite letter

A letter has been published which explains the changes to the routine childhood vaccination programmes from 1 July 2025 and the 1 January 2026. This also includes changes to the selective hepatitis B vaccination programme from 1 July 2025:

We are writing to inform you of significant changes to the routine childhood vaccination schedule and to the selective hepatitis B (HepB) programme occurring from 1 July 2025 and 1 January 2026, including the introduction of a new routine vaccination appointment at 18 months of age.

These changes are required as a result of the discontinuation of the manufacture of Menitorix (Hib/MenC) vaccine. This has prompted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to recommend and advise on a number of other changes to the national childhood immunisation schedule to optimise the overall protection of children in the UK.

For the complete letter, see Changes to the routine childhood schedule letter.

The importance of using both physical and digital resources for patient information

A reminder to all our readers that patient-facing information from the UK Health Security Agency including our patient leaflets and posters are available in 3 formats:

1. physical copies you can order to be posted to you free of charge from Health Publications
2. as digital files, generally PDFs that can be sent out through digital channels and added to service apps
3. as HTML documents on GOV.UK, these are text-only documents that are easily shared via a link, they have all the same information but none of the images or design elements

It is essential that the right format is used for the right settings, with consideration made for issues including literacy levels, digital poverty and English proficiency. Our physical copy and digital files are available in a range of different languages depending on the programme, including British Sign Language, making them suitable for those who prefer to receive their health information in their native language or in an audio/visual format. HTML versions are easy to share for those with low data availability or those who rely on a screen reader. Physical copies remain the most equitable resource for those living in digital poverty. A hard copy leaflet can be revisited repeatedly and this can help to facilitate the ongoing process of consent.

Digital Poverty and digital exclusion

• 1 in 5 children home schooling during the pandemic did not have access to an appropriate device like a laptop.
• 26% of young people do not have access to a laptop or similar device.
• 53% of people offline can’t afford an average monthly broadband bill.
• 2.5 million people are behind on their broadband bills.
• Digital inclusion is a whole-of-society issue – it needs collaboration.
• Human-centred design is essential for inclusive digital approaches.
• The NHS must keep non-digital healthcare and access alongside digital access.
• Some groups face a higher risk of being digitally excluded. These groups also generally face a higher risk of health inequalities, by not providing non-digital information we are failing these groups doubly.

Find out more about Mitigating risks of digital exclusion in health systems via the Good Things Foundation.

The impact of using physical copy translations has been noted in the following case study: HPV, polio and tetanus school vaccinations in Trafford.

To tackle[lower rates of HPV uptake], the school and TLCO team attended a parents evening in May 2023 at the school to provide information on the vaccinations available for teenagers and why they are important, and consent forms for parents to complete at the event. Posters and leaflets in alternative languages Urdu, Punjabi and Farsi were displayed and interpreters were on hand to translate.

Health Policy Team at RSPCH (published 6 December 2023).

Sustainability

The issue of sustainability is often raised when it comes to physical copy paper leaflets, we work with our print partners to produce our leaflets as sustainability as possible with FSA paper stock, replanting trees projects and the use of vegetable dyes that mean when you are done with our leaflets, you can take out the staples and stick them in your compost heap if you are of a green-fingered persuasion.

Our printers are committed to:

• using 100% renewable sourced energy
• recycling 100% of paper waste produced
• recovering and reusing 97% of waste
• using vegetable and water based inks with alcohol free printing presses
• using paper that is either FSC and PEFC certified or recycled -protecting 379,000 square meters of forest in partnership with the Woodland Trust

Printed consent materials are an essential part of the consent process for immunisation. Immunisation can help to prevent serious illness and hospitalisation. There is significant environmental impact from admissions to critical care, (Gaetani M, et al. 2024), which by far outweigh the impact of producing and using paper materials.

We recommend ordering little and often to ensure that you are not having to dispose of large amounts of stock if and when leaflets get updated or go out of date. Our rapid delivery model should make this easy to facilitate.

Remember: consent is an ongoing process not a single event and having the correct format information, tailored to the correct context is essential to facilitate this.

A big thanks to everyone who uses our resources or has offered feedback about them, it’s a constant process and our team are so proud when we hear from our front line colleagues about the use of our materials!

Vaccine Supply

Routine vaccination programme

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.

Table 1. Late May bank holiday COVID-19 vaccine deliveries

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 the 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.

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 chapter 4: Immunisation procedures of the Green Book. 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 are published in chapter 24: Pertussis in the Green Book.

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

Contact 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.

Depletion of Vaxelis® for DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB vaccination

The ImmForm stockholding of Vaxelis® is expected to deplete during early summer 2025, after which time only Infanrix hexa® will be supplied. 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. 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. However, vaccination should never be delayed because the vaccine used for previous doses is not known or unavailable.

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. 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

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 are 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 10μg is available
• MSD: HBVAXPRO 40μg is available
• Valneva: PreHevbri is no longer marketed in the UK

Paediatric

• GSK: supplies of Engerix B Paediatric singles are 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: Viatim is now a discontinued product and no longer available for sale

Typhoid vaccine

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

Rabies vaccine

• Bavarian Nordic: Rabipur is currently available
• Sanofi: 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
• Pfizer: Prevenar 20 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 : Revaxis is available

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

• GSK: supply of Boostrix-IPV is currently available
• Sanofi: 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: MenQuadfi is available

Yellow fever

• Sanofi: Stamaril is available

Human papillomavirus vaccine

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

Cholera vaccine

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

Japanese encephalytis 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: Adacel is available to order without restrictions

Dengue tetravalent vaccine

• Takeda: Qdenga is currently available

Respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

• Pfizer: Abrysvo is currently available