Promotional material

Vaccine update: issue 375, Flu Special 2026

Published 8 September 2026

Applies to England

Flu vaccination programme: 2026 to 2027

As the new flu season approaches, it’s time to get winter-ready with the annual flu vaccination campaign!

Flu can be serious, leading to thousands of hospitalisations and deaths each year in England. This is why the flu vaccine is offered to help provide direct protection to those most at risk from the effects of flu. In addition, the children’s programme helps to directly protect the children themselves and also reduces transmission of the virus across the community.

We are aware that a huge amount of planning activity has been completed by providers ahead of this season to increase uptake across many of these groups. A huge thank you for everyone’s efforts ahead of this upcoming season.

Last season (2025 to 2026) illustrated how unpredictable flu can be, with a drifted sub-clade of fluA(H3N2) (subclade K) starting to circulate around 5 weeks earlier than usual; in mid-October. Despite circulation of the drifted strain, rapid analysis of vaccine effectiveness by UKHSA at the beginning of November 2025 showed the vaccines were working against the circulating strain, and working particularly well in children. This was also confirmed with end of season vaccine effectiveness analysis.

Despite the early start to the season, there was lower flu activity levels than the previous season. UKHSA modelling suggests that last year flu vaccination prevented around 100,000 hospitalisations and around 7,000 deaths in England - so we have clear evidence that the protection from last season’s vaccine programme helped prevent a much worse winter. The vaccination programme performed well last season with each eligible group achieving the ambition of equivalent (or higher) uptake compared with the previous season.

For this autumn’s vaccination programme, there has been one change to eligibility since last season; people experiencing homelessness will be eligible from 1 October onwards (see the People Experiencing Homelessness section below and Amendment to national flu immunisation programme 2026 to 2027 letter for more information). Those in clinical risk groups, older adults, and pregnant women are eligible alongside the offer as part of the children’s programme to 2 and 3 year olds, all primary school aged children, and secondary school aged children up to year 11. See the National flu immunisation programme plan 2026 to 2027.

The 2026 to 2027 season will be the third year that the flu vaccination programme for most adults is planned to start with vaccination being offered from 1 October. The exceptions to this later start date for flu vaccination are for pregnant women and children who should continue to be offered vaccination from September, and those individuals under exceptional clinical circumstances where earlier vaccination may be appropriate – see the sections on Timing and How the programme performed last season for more information.

The 2026 to 2027 flu season will see the continuation and expansion of the community pharmacy offer to children. See the section below on Community pharmacy for more information.

This Vaccine Update Flu Special sets out the eligibility criteria for this year’s programme. It provides links to the ‘Green Book’ influenza chapter (which has recently been updated ahead of the season), the Joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) advice on flu vaccines and timing of the programme, the vaccine group directions (VGDs) and patient group directions (PGDs), and training materials for healthcare professionals. It outlines how to download or order free of charge our patient and parent facing resources which include leaflets, letter templates, consent forms and posters, with leaflets translated into over 30 languages and provided in braille, British Sign Language, large print, simple text for readers with a lower literacy level, and easy read format for individuals with learning disabilities. This edition also includes details of data collected throughout the season and children’s vaccine supply.

A winter vaccinations communications campaign will begin in September once flu vaccination starts being offered to children and pregnant women. This will gradually be ramping up throughout September, with national paid for marketing activity starting to target pregnant women and children in late September and expanding to include at risk groups in October, to encourage the uptake of flu vaccines. The campaign will support the flu vaccination programme and the other routine vaccine programmes for pregnant women this winter.

See the section below for materials and key messages to support vaccination of the national programme and frontline health and social care workers (SCWs). There is a separate section that includes guidance to support vaccination of SCWs, that has been refreshed ahead of the season.

This autumn we want to continue to encourage influenza vaccine uptake in those who are eligible for the national programme and for frontline health and social care workers.

The annual flu vaccination programme saves thousands of lives every year, and reduces GP consultations, hospital admissions and pressure on A&E. We would like to extend our thanks to all for their hard work delivering the programme.

New for this season – People Experiencing Homelessness (PEH)

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 considered a new risk group and routinely offered seasonal flu and pneumococcal vaccinations. This advice was based on evidence of high comorbidity rates placing them at a similar level of risk of hospitalisation and death from these diseases as people aged 65 and over.

It was agreed in March 2026 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.

Seasonal flu vaccination is an opportunity to offer the pneumococcal vaccine, PCV20 (Prevenar 20® vaccine). PCV20 can be co-administered with seasonal flu vaccine and all other vaccines for which the individual may be eligible. Administration of any vaccination presents an opportunity to review an individual’s vaccination history and offer any outstanding vaccinations for which they are eligible; see, Vaccination of individuals with uncertain or incomplete immunisation.

A toolkit to support vaccination among people experiencing homelessness is due to be published in early Autumn, with recommendations and resources for multi-agency stakeholders who want to develop, strengthen or deliver vaccination services for this population. It will aim to outline practical actions that services can take to address barriers and enhance effectiveness of vaccine delivery. Once published, the link to the toolkit will be promoted in a future edition of Vaccine Update.

Public health promotional materials to support seasonal flu and pneumococcal vaccination for rough sleepers and those using homeless hostels or night-shelters, will be available, including a poster, flyer and pocket guide.

The expansion of community pharmacy delivery of flu vaccinations to children

To help support improvements in access and uptake, community pharmacies will continue to pilot the offer of children flu vaccinations during the 2026 to 2027 flu season with extension to children in clinical risk groups and school-aged children (who missed the opportunity to be vaccinated by SAIS providers).

2 and 3 year olds (continued from 2025 to 2026)

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 (new for 2026 to 2027)

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 (new for 2026 to 2027)

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.

The requirements of the service will be set out in the Directions and service specification. Further details can be found in the amendment to the tripartite annual flu letter (published 9 June 2026).

Please see the PGD section and the vaccine supply section for more information.

A reminder on timing of flu vaccination

Based on the evidence that the flu vaccine’s effectiveness can wane over time in adults in 2023 the JCVI advised moving the start of the programme for most adults to the beginning of October and this delayed start date occurred for the first time in 2024 to 2025 season. For this season (2026 to 2027) NHS England has confirmed a start date of 1 October. It is preferable to vaccinate most adults closer to the time when the flu virus is likely to circulate (which typically peaks in December or January), as this will provide optimal protection during the highest risk period. The majority of the vaccinations will need to be completed by the end of November.

Protection from the vaccine lasts much longer in children, therefore the priority is to start vaccinating all children (including those in clinical risk groups) from 1 September, or as soon as availability of vaccine supply allows both to provide early protection to children and reduce transmission to the wider population. For school-aged cohorts, all schools should have had a first visit by the end of November, and vaccination should be completed by Friday 11 December 2026. Catch-up opportunities should also be provided via a range of well publicised community clinics, accessible throughout the season. Additional school visits and community clinics may be considered beyond 11 December 2026 to improve vaccination uptake.

Pregnant women are an exception to the later start date.

There are 3 clinical reasons to vaccinate pregnant women against flu:

• to protect the pregnant women themselves (they are at higher risk from complications from flu)
• to protect the baby during pregnancy (for example, flu infection increases the risks of the baby being premature or stillborn)
• to protect the baby in the first few months of life (babies under 6 months old are at high risk of complications from flu)

Although the first and second of these reasons would align with the advice to provide maximal protection during the expected flu season, the third reason requires women to be vaccinated prior to delivery and therefore vaccination of pregnant women should begin from 1 September. Pregnant women are not expected to lose protection as rapidly as the older adults population and therefore starting vaccination (particularly in those women who are in the later stages of pregnancy) earlier than for those in other clinical risk groups, will still offer protection to women themselves in the peak season. Commencing vaccination early will, however, ensure that as many newborn babies as possible are protected during the flu season and help to optimise uptake.

Following clinical assessment, there may be a small number of other adults for whom it would be better not to delay flu vaccination until October. For example, for those who are due to commence immunosuppressive treatment (such as chemotherapy) before October, having flu vaccine before they start treatment would allow them to make a better response to their vaccination. GPs should use clinical judgement to bring forward vaccination in exceptional circumstances, as outlined in the Green Book, and offer vaccination as soon as vaccine becomes available in line with contractual arrangements.

It is important that by the end of November, all those resident in long-stay residential care homes should have been offered a vaccination.

Employers should ensure all frontline health care workers are offered a vaccine by the end of November.

For those adults who have been used to getting their annual flu vaccine in September this may lead to questions and potential confusion about why they are having to wait. To help explain this change UKHSA has produced a flyer ‘When should I get my flu vaccine?’ that can be ordered for free.

The timing and length of an influenza season varies greatly between seasons. Guidance on the timings of the flu season is available on the GOV.UK website.

How the 2 seasons with the October start date for the adult programme compared

In the cohorts that became eligible for the programme in October rather than September (those aged 65 years and over, and those aged under 65 years in clinical risk groups), the 2025 to 2026 season gave us the opportunity to directly compare vaccine uptake to the previous season. The 2024 to 2025 season was the first season with the October eligibility date for adult cohorts (expect pregnant women), with seasons prior to that having eligibility from September.

Despite 4 weeks less time to vaccinate most adults, vaccination for those aged 65 years and over was just shy of the WHO target of 75% in both seasons. And this was higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels (72.4% in 2019 to 2020 season), when vaccine eligibility began in September. In both seasons with the October eligibility date, there were astounding levels of vaccination activity seen in the first few weeks of the programme. Weekly national level vaccine uptake data published in the UKHSA weekly national flu and COVID-19 surveillance report showed that last season (2025 to 2026) for those aged 65 years and over there was an astounding 20% point rise in the first week of the programme and a further 17% point increase in the second week, with momentum continuing throughout October. This was a tremendous achievement from all those who are so dedicated to delivering the programme. However, vaccination activity levels notably slowed at the start of November. For this upcoming and future seasons, keeping momentum going throughout November, will help ensure as many people as possible are protected.

For clinical risk groups (aged 6 months to under 65 years) uptake was comparable to the previous season (40.6% compared with 40.0% in the previous season). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic uptake was 44.9% in this cohort in 2019 to 2020 season, when eligibility was from the start of September.

Who is eligible?

The following are eligible for an NHS vaccine in 2026 to 2027.

From 1 September 2026:

• pregnant women
• all children aged 2 or 3 years old (on 31 August 2026)
• all primary school-aged children (from reception class to year 6)
• secondary school-aged children (from years 7 to 11)
• all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years

From 1 October 2026:

Those aged 18 to under 65 years in clinical risk groups such as those with:

• chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as asthma (requires continuous or repeated use of inhaled or systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or bronchitis
• chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
• chronic kidney disease at stage 3, 4 or 5
• chronic liver disease
• chronic neurological disease, such as Parkinson’s disease or motor neurone disease
• learning disability
• diabetes and adrenal insufficiency
• splenic dysfunction or asplenia
• a weakened immune system due to disease (such as HIV/AIDS) or treatment (such as cancer treatment)
• morbidly obese (defined as BMI of 40 and above)

As well as:

• those aged 65 years and over
• 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
• people experiencing homelessness (PEH) (rough sleepers and those using homeless hostels or night-shelters), aged 16 years and over note 1

Those living in:

• long-stay residential care homes or nursing homes note 1
• other long-stay health or social care facilities note 1
• a house bound patient (defined in the ES specification)
• Locum GPs note 1

Frontline staff employed by the following types of social care providers without employer-led occupational health schemes:

• registered domiciliary care provider
• those paid for by Direct Payment (personal budgets) and/or Personal Health Budgets, such as Personal Assistants
• a registered residential care/ nursing home note 1
• a voluntary managed hospice provider note 1

Note 1: Of the eligible cohorts listed above, those marked with [note 1] may be vaccinated by any general practice, regardless of whether they are registered with that general practice.

For further information on eligibility, see:

• the tripartite annual flu letter published on 26 February 2026 and the amendment to the flu letter of the 28 July
• the GP Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Enhanced Service Specification
• the Community Pharmacy Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Service

Focus on school-aged children

A successful school-aged flu vaccination programme is key to providing early protection to children and reducing transmission to the wider population. Delivery through a schools-based programme is also key at reducing inequalities and increasing access and uptake.

Last season the schools programme performed well with 55.5% of all primary school-aged children (reception to year 6) vaccinated, with 48.0% of secondary school children (year 7 to year 11) vaccinated. This was the highest uptake seen for secondary schools since years 7 to 11 have been eligible. However primary schools have not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic uptake levels; in the 2019 to 2020 season primary school uptake (reception to year 6) was 60.4%. See more about seasonal influenza uptake in school aged children on .GOV.UK.

To support the school-aged programme, ahead of the 2026 to 2027 season the headteachers briefings for both primary schools and secondary schools have been refreshed. These updates bring into focus the role of schools in supporting school aged vaccinations and working with school-aged immunisation services (SAIS) teams.

Flu vaccination – Briefing for primary schools

This guide gives details about the flu vaccination programme for primary school-aged children including how the programme is delivered and the role schools play. Paper copies of this briefing are available free to order from the Find Public Health Resources website using product code 218467MEN001.

Adolescent vaccination programme – Briefing for secondary schools

This guide explains the NHS adolescent vaccination programmes delivered to children in secondary schools and the important role that schools play in the delivery of them. It includes information on the flu vaccination programme.

This briefing is available to order and download free of charge from Find Public Health Resources using product code: 218467NEN001.

Webinar to headteachers

On 24 June 2026, UKHSA, NHS England and Department for Education, jointly hosted a free webinar with head teachers, to help school staff prepare for the autumn flu vaccination programme. The recording is available via YouTube here: Webinar on preparing schools for the seasonal flu vaccine 2026/27.

The presentation slides can be accessed via Google Drive: Webinar on preparing schools for the seasonal flu vaccine 2026/27.

Focus on pregnant women

Encouragingly national level vaccine uptake has increased in pregnant women for the last 2 seasons, following 3 seasons of decline after the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although there was a promising increase in uptake (over 3% points compared with the previous season), at 38.4% there is still work to do to reach the 2017 to 2018 uptake of 47.2%. As outlined in the timing section there are 3 different reasons to vaccinate pregnant women for flu.

Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications from flu than non-pregnant women and have a higher risk of admission to intensive care. Influenza infection during pregnancy may be associated with perinatal mortality, prematurity, lower birth weight and smaller neonatal size in the infant. Babies under 6 months of age are at risk of serious illness and complications from flu and most seasons have one of the highest hospitalisation rates of all age groups. Passive immunity passed from the expectant mother to the unborn child gives them the best protection during early infancy.

Pregnant women should be offered the flu vaccine as soon as the vaccine becomes available, regardless of their stage of pregnancy. All pregnant women, including those who become pregnant during the flu season, should be offered an inactivated influenza vaccine, regardless of their stage of pregnancy.

For more content on maternal immunisations during pregnancy see the most recent edition of Vaccine Update’s Maternity Special (Issue 368, January 2026).

Maternity Resources

‘Pregnant? These vaccines help to protect you, your baby and your pregnancy’ leaflet

This leaflet covers all 3 immunisations that should be offered in every pregnancy.

You can view, download, or order printed copies of this leaflet for free from Find Public Health Resources using the product code: 24PYPB01EN

Paper copies of this leaflet are available free to order or download in the following languages:

English, Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional, Cantonese), Estonian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Latvian, Lithuanian, Punjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu and Yiddish.

An English large print version is available to order.

A British Sign Language (BSL) video is available to view or download.

A Braille version of this leaflet is available to order.

An audio version of this leaflet is available to download.

Maternal vaccines postcard

A maternal vaccines postcard is also available to download and order free printed copies from the Find Public Health Resources website using product code: 2191EN001.

Maternal communications toolkit

To support stakeholders, UKHSA and NHS England have produced a maternal vaccination communications toolkit which provides information about the risks associated with flu, RSV and whooping cough, as well as the benefits of the vaccinations for pregnant women and their babies. This includes public-facing messaging, background information, statistics, suggested social media copy, social media assets and links to useful information. The toolkit and further social media assets, including some translated resources are available on the Campaign Resource Centre.

Friends, Families and Traveller’s resources to support vaccination

In Autumn 2025 Friends, Families and Travellers, in partnership with UKHSA and Roma Support Group, produced a series of short animations with key information on vaccinations. These resources focus on childhood and maternal vaccination as well as measles and whooping cough.

There are currently 10 videos available, and the childhood and maternal videos that cover flu vaccinations are:

• ‘Childhood and maternal vaccination information for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people’
• ‘Childhood vaccination information for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people’
• ‘Maternal vaccination information for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people’

You can find the resources on YouTube using the following links:

• English playlist
• Polish playlist
• Romanian playlist
• Slovak Romanes playlist

You can also find these resources on the Friends Families and Traveller’s website

Focus on frontline health and social care workers

Official government statistics from UKHSA showed that last season (2025 to 2026) vaccination uptake among frontline HCWs in NHS Trusts increased following 4 consecutive seasons of decline. Uptake was 7.5 percentage points higher than the previous season (45.0% compared with 37.5% in the previous season (2024 to 2025)), which was a fantastic achievement.

All frontline health care workers, including both clinical and non-clinical staff who have contact with patients, should be offered a flu vaccine for the prevention of the transmission of flu, to help protect both staff and those that they care for. Vaccination of frontline healthcare workers for flu continues to be an employer responsibility without an activity-based payment.

Social care workers directly working with people clinically vulnerable to flu should also have the flu vaccine provided by their employer. There are circumstances where frontline staff, employed by specific social care providers without access to employer led occupational health schemes (see eligibility criteria above), can access the vaccine through the NHS free of charge.

Additional information on flu immunisation for social care staff will be available very soon to download and order online. This guidance has been refreshed ahead of the 2026 to 2027 season.

Marketing assets to support flu vaccination of healthcare workers will be available from the Campaign Resource Centre. This year, the communications toolkit (see the section on Communications Toolkits below) includes both public-facing and staff facing messages. For details on vaccine uptake in frontline healthcare workers, including the government’s official statistics (published by UKHSA) please see the ‘UKHSA vaccine uptake data’ section.

Flu vaccines

Which flu vaccine should be offered?

Every year JCVI reviews the latest evidence on influenza vaccines and recommends the type of vaccine to be offered to individuals. For 2026 to 2027 there has been 2 changes to the JCVI advice for adult flu vaccines, and no changes for children’s flu vaccines.

The changes to the adult flu vaccine advice were:

• in those aged 65 years and older, IIVc (cell-cultured) should be considered equivalent to allV (adjuvanted), llV-HD (high-dose) and IIVr (recombinant)
• in those aged 50 years to 59 years in clinical risk groups, IIV-HD can be used off-label

NHS England confirmed which vaccines will be reimbursed on the NHS as part of the tripartite annual flu letter for the 2026 to 2027 season.

A list of all influenza vaccines marketed in the UK (including details of ovalbumin content) is available on GOV.UK.

Which flu vaccines poster

A poster for practices summarising which flu vaccine should be given to eligible groups, with images of the manufacturers box for each vaccine, is available to download.

Which flu vaccine should children have poster

A quick reference guide to the childhood flu vaccines for winter 2026 to 2027, is available to download.

Trivalent vaccine formulations

Flu vaccines are updated for each season to give protection against the flu virus strains that are most likely to be circulating.

There are 3 strain changes for the 2026 to 2027 season, compared to only one strain change last season. Flu vaccines are biological products that are manufactured under incredibly pressured timelines and remains highly complex due to the virus growth process, regulatory constraints and aligning with the start of the flu programme.

There are several types of flu viruses and seasonal flu vaccinations protect against specific strains of the type A and type B viruses. Due to the interventions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic (such as social distancing and reductions in international travel), one strain of the flu B virus has potentially gone extinct, leading to changes in recommendations for seasonal flu vaccine formulations.

Up until 2017 to 2018 season seasonal flu vaccine in the UK protected against 3 different virus strains (2 strains of flu A viruses and 1 strain of flu B virus) and were therefore called ‘tri valent’ vaccines. In the UK from the 2018 to 2019 season onwards, seasonal flu vaccines began to contain 4 different virus strains (2 strains of flu A and 2 strains of flu B); and were called ‘quad rivalent’ vaccines. Quadrivalent flu vaccines containing a strain from the two B lineages (Victoria and Yamagata) were developed to give wider protection against circulating flu B viruses. However, following the interventions introduced globally during the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been no confirmed detections of wild type B/Yamagata viruses by the UK national influenza centre, or internationally through any WHO influenza collaborating centres (as of August 2026), since March 2020.

With the potential extinction of the Yamagata virus, the WHO recommendations, has been advising the use of trivalent vaccines (containing 2 A strains and a B Victoria strain) for several seasons. A trivalent formulation of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) (the nasal spray vaccine used in the children’s programme) was introduced in the UK programme in the 2024 to 2025 season, as advised by the JCVI. Last season (2025 to 2026) all inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV) used in the UK programmes had moved to trivalent formulations. For the 2026 to 2027 season all flu vaccine used in the UK will continue to be trivalent.

Last season (2025 to 2026) we began to see a change in the language used in professional facing resources used to support the flu programme (such as the JCVI statement, the Green Book chapter, PGDs/VGDs and healthcare professional training documents). This season these continue using a naming system that is independent of the number of virus strains contained in the vaccines. For example, the acronym IIVx denotes all inactivated influenza vaccines (IIV), regardless of how many virus strain antigens are included in the vaccine. In addition, these resources are using ‘preferred’, instead of ‘first/second line’ vaccines, when advising on the type of vaccine to be offered to different age groups.

Key clinical resources to support the flu vaccination programme

Influenza: the Green Book

The influenza chapter in ‘Immunisation against infectious disease’ (the Green Book), which has recently been updated, gives detailed descriptions about age cohorts and clinical risk groups advised to receive influenza vaccination and guidance for healthcare workers on administering the influenza vaccine has been updated is available now. Updates ahead of the 2026 to 2027 season are included on JCVI advice, clinical conditions, egg allergy and additional data on disease epidemiology and surveillance across the 4 UK nations.

Guidance on immunisation training for 2026 to 2027 influenza season

All healthcare professionals involved in administering the influenza vaccine must have the necessary knowledge, skills, training and mechanisms in place to supply and safely administer influenza vaccines.

The updated National Minimum Standards were published in June 2025. They replace the previous training standards for registered healthcare practitioners and healthcare support workers in a single document that describes the training that should be provided for all healthcare staff with a role in delivering vaccination programmes. They recommend local training, preferably with an interactive element whenever possible.

If face to face training is not available locally (it is always preferable to include an element of interactive learning, whether in person or via an online meeting platform), all those who advise on or administer influenza vaccines are recommended to complete the flu specific e-learning programme which is updated annually and is available free of charge with open access for all. This e-learning programme consists of a core knowledge module, separate modules on the inactivated and live influenza vaccines and accompanying knowledge assessments for each module.

The national flu immunisation programme for 2026 to 2027 slide set is available to download from the main annual flu programme page and “flu vaccination programme 2026 to 2027: information for healthcare practitioners” guidance containing information about the current influenza programme, the vaccines available and commonly raised issues for influenza vaccination has also been published. Visual aids, in the form of a Flu Vaccines poster and a Which Flu Vaccines Should Children Have? poster, are also available to support healthcare practitioners and can be downloaded from the main annual flu programme page.

Patient group direction and vaccine group direction

Patient group direction

A patient group direction (PGD) for the 2026 to 2027 influenza season is available via the main webpage. For this season, the PGD combines both the LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine) and the intramuscular influenza vaccines (IIVs), so is designed for use by all providers of flu services.

Historically, the LAIV PGD has been designed with both a supply only and a supply and administration function, to include the use of healthcare support workers (HCWs) supporting the school aged immunisation service (SAIS). The supply only function has been removed for 2026/ 2027. Where SAIS providers wish to utilise HCWs to support with vaccine administration, delegation via the vaccine group direction (VGD) is recommended (see below).

Vaccine group direction (VGD) for influenza inactivated influenza vaccine

For the 2026 to 2027 influenza season, a VGD has been additionally produced, which like the national protocol, allows the remainder of the vaccination process, following patient consent, to be delegated to suitably trained individuals. Similar to the national protocol, where vaccination tasks are delegated these tasks must be supervised by the healthcare professional who has consented the individual for vaccination. See section 3 of the influenza VGD for further information.

Attitudes to vaccination and vaccine confidence

UKHSA attitudinal surveys consistently show that trust in healthcare practitioners is high, especially in nurses, GPs and midwives. It is important that healthcare practitioners are well-informed on flu vaccines and the vaccine programme in order to have confident conversations, hear concerns, advise based on the evidence and help build vaccine confidence.

• the Pregnant women 2025 survey
• the Parents of young children 2025 survey
• the Teenagers and their parents 2023 survey (2026 survey due to be published soon)

Communications, marketing and public facing public health resources

Public facing communications campaign This year’s national campaign will encourage uptake of the seasonal flu vaccine as well as routine vaccinations for pregnant women, children aged 0-5 years, and young people.

From September, the campaign will highlight the important protection the flu vaccine helps to provide for those that are most vulnerable, with staggered activity focusing specific audiences. Some activity will highlight the flu vaccine alongside other vaccines people are eligible for. As an example, activity targeting pregnant women will talk about the protection passed from mum to baby whilst pregnant by the flu vaccine as well as by the RSV and pertussis vaccines.

The focus for flu vaccines will be on cohorts where uptake is traditionally lower; pregnant women, children aged 2 to 3 and school aged children (via their parents and carers), and people living with long-term health conditions.

The campaign narrative highlights that flu spreads more easily in winter and can be life-threatening, but that those eligible can protect themselves by having their flu vaccination, helping to reduce the risk of serious illness if they catch it this winter.

The campaign will include TV advertising, broadcast radio, digital and multicultural marketing advertising supported by search, PR, social media, and partnership activity.

Campaign materials are available on the Campaign Resource Centre.

Communications toolkit

UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), NHS England and Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have produced a winter vaccinations stakeholder toolkit which provides information on the flu vaccination programme for 2026 to 2027, as well as RSV and other respiratory viruses that spread more easily in winter. This will include a range of communications materials that stakeholders can use across their own channels, include public-facing messages and suggested copy for newsletters. It aims to support stakeholders to explain and promote the vaccination programmes to those eligible. It contains background information, statistics, key messages, suggested social media copy, social media assets and links to useful information. The toolkit is available from the Campaign Resource Centre.

A separate toolkit has been prepared by NHS England to support health and social care organisations to increase staff uptake of flu vaccinations. This contains materials, key messages and other useful information and is available on the Campaign Resource Centre.

Public health promotional materials

Promotional resources including posters, leaflets and stickers to support the 2026/27 children’s flu vaccination programme are available to view and download on .GOV.UK.

Flu publications available to order

Leaflets remain an effective way of communicating the benefits of having a flu vaccine and inform the consent process. It is important that people receive a leaflet in a format that meets their needs, with accessible versions being an important way to improve uptake in underserved communities. We also want everyone to have a positive vaccination experience and having accessible information is part of that experience.

Our leaflets and resources are all available to download and many can also be ordered for free. We have a wide range of leaflets in translated versions, simple text, Easy Read, large print, braille, video British Sign Language versions, and easy read for those who have a learning disability and video.

There are also HTML versions which are text only. This helps search engines on the web that look for content, people who use screen readers and assisted technology. HTML versions can also be signposted to in e-consent forms which need to include leaflets when asking for consent. If using e-consent it is important to recognise that not all parents and carers have access to digital resources, so it is important to provide printed leaflets as well.

Schools and the school aged immunisation service can identify which accessible versions would be helpful for their cohorts. For example, if there are students who are deaf or use British Sign Language (BSL), they can make the videos available on screens or share the link with parents and children. It is important to recognise that many BSL users rely on BSL resources as written literacy in this group can be lower.

Stay up to date with all of the publications to support the annual flu programme

Main leaflets

This leaflet explains to patients how they can help protect themselves and their children against flu this winter. It includes information for children, eligible adults and pregnant women, and details why it’s very important that people at increased risk from flu, or who care for someone vulnerable, to have their free vaccination every year.

Paper copies of this leaflet are available free to order or download. Accessible formats including Braille are available to download and order.

Translations of this leaflet are available to download: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional, Cantonese), Estonian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Panjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish and Yoruba.

Copies are also available in accessible formats including audio, Braille, British Sign Language (BSL) video and large print.

‘When should I have my flu vaccine?’ flyer

This flyer explains why adults eligible for the flu vaccine will be offered a flu vaccine from early October this year. This is based on the latest scientific evidence that shows that protection from the flu vaccine decreases over time in adults. It is therefore better to have the vaccine closer to when flu typically circulates.

This flyer can be downloaded and ordered for free from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: 24FLUWEN.

‘Protect your child against flu – information for parents and carers of children in primary school or pre-school’ leaflet

You can view, download, or order printed copies of this leaflet for free from Find Public Health Resources using the product code 2025FCEN.

This leaflet is available to order and download in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dari, Estonian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Nepali, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish and Yoruba.

Accessible versions of this main leaflet are available to order and download in: Audio, Braille and Large print.

‘Protect yourself against flu – information for those in secondary school’ leaflet

You can view, download, or order printed copies of this leaflet for free from Find Public Health Resources using the product code 25SECFLUEN.

This leaflet is available to order and download in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dari, Estonian, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Nepali, Punjabi, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish,Tagalog, Tigrinya, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Yiddish, and Yoruba.

Accessible versions of this main leaflet are available to order and download in: Audio, Braille, and Large print.

Guidance and resources for schools and SAIS

Flu vaccination – Briefing for primary schools

This guide gives details about the flu vaccination programme for primary school-aged children including how the programme is delivered and the role schools play. Paper copies of this briefing are available free to order from the Find Public Health Resources website using product code 218467MEN001.

Adolescent vaccination programme – Briefing for secondary schools

This guide explains the NHS adolescent vaccination programmes delivered to children in secondary schools and the important role that schools play in the delivery of them. It includes information on the flu vaccination programme.

This briefing is available to order and download free of charge from Find Public Health Resources using product code: 218467NEN001.

Flu vaccine consent form

A flu vaccine consent form (covering both the nasal spray vaccine and flu vaccine by injection) is available for school-aged immunisation service providers to download from GOV.UK.

Letter template inviting school aged children for vaccination

for vaccination A letter template for school age immunisation provider teams to use can be downloaded from GOV.UK.

Flu vaccination for pre-school children

Available to download, this leaflet is about the annual flu vaccination programme for preschool children. It informs those working in the early years sector about the programme and how they can support it. It is aimed at nursery and preschool managers and staff, and childminders delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework, and those who provide informal childcare, such as nannies.

Letter templates for General Practice

Flu vaccination: letter template for children aged 2 and 3 years

GP practices can use this template to invite parents and guardians to get their child vaccinated at the local surgery, it can be downloaded from .GOV.UK

Flu vaccination: letter template for at risk patients and carers

Template for GPs to invite patients at risk from flu due to a medical condition, pregnancy or age, and those who receive a carer’s allowance or are the main carer for an older or disabled person, to have their annual flu vaccine can be downloaded from GOV.UK.

GP best practice guidance:

Increasing flu vaccine uptake in preschool children

This resource sets out steps that General Practice can take to improve flu vaccine uptake in children aged 2 and 3 years old. This document can be downloaded from GOV.UK

British Islamic Medical Association Flu Resources

The British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) have updated their 2 resources which explain the benefits of flu vaccination, the Islamic position on taking up the vaccine, and how to weigh up whether your children should have the nasal spray vaccine given the porcine gelatine content and conflict with a halal diet. BIMA are happy to be contacted for any local queries on info@britishima.org and you can download these resources from the BIMA website

5 reasons to vaccinate your child against flu posters

For pre-school and primary school aged children

‘Five reasons to vaccinate your child against flu’ poster for primary schools and pre-schools is available to order from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: FLU5RY24.

This poster is available in the following languages: Albanian, Arabic, Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian,Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Estonian, Farsi, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Latvian, Lithuanian, Punjabi, Polish, Romanian, Romany, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu and Yiddish.

For secondary school aged children

‘Five reasons to vaccinate your child against flu’ poster for secondary schools is available to order from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: FLU5RS24.

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

Stickers

Stickers are available for healthcare practitioners to give to children who have received a flu vaccine either at their GP practice or school. There are 72 stickers per sheet. These can be ordered using product code SCHFLSTK.

Simple text versions

Aimed at individuals with a low reading age, simple text versions “All about flu and how to stop getting it”, are available to download and view on .GOV.UK

• All about flu and vaccination – simple text for adults: this can be downloaded and ordered from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: 218467AEN001

• All about flu and vaccination – simple text for children: this can be downloaded and ordered from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: 2184679EN001.

Resources for those with a learning disability

Several resources are available that explain and support flu vaccination for those with a learning disability.

They are aimed at people who have a learning disability or who care for someone with a learning disability.

They provide advice on the flu virus and why you need a vaccine every year

• Protect yourself from flu: easy-read leaflet: this can be downloaded and ordered from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: EASYREADFLU1
• Protect yourself from flu: easy-read poster: this can be downloaded and ordered from the Find Public Health Resources service using product code: EASYREADFLU2

Flu vaccination films for people with a learning disability and autistic people and their family or carers

Two short films about the importance of flu vaccination for people with a learning disability and autistic people with certain health conditions. The films cover why it is important, who is eligible for a free vaccine, where you can get the vaccine and reasonable adjustments.

• view the Flu vaccinations for people with learning disability video on YouTube

• view the Flu vaccinations for carers of people with a learning disability video on YouTube

Reasonable adjustments

The importance and range of reasonable adjustments that can be made so people with a learning disability or other disabilities have good access to healthcare is explained in this film.

Resources and tools to support this legal requirement can be found on the NHS.UK website.

Data collection and reporting throughout the season

Disease surveillance data from UKHSA Influenza and COVID-19 disease surveillance reporting is combined into one report to create the ‘Weekly national Influenza and COVID-19 Surveillance Report’ which is published weekly on Thursdays at 2pm by UKHSA.

The report summarises information from the surveillance systems which are used to monitor influenza, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), RSV and other seasonal respiratory viruses in England. As in previous seasons, from week 41 (8 October 2026) onwards, national level ‘top lines’ on weekly vaccine uptake for pregnant women, clinical at-risk groups, those 65 years and over and 2 and 3 year olds will be included in the weekly surveillance report.

During the autumn and winter months, to support the story behind the data in the weekly disease surveillance report for respiratory viruses, UKHSA publishes a series called UKHSA Virus Watch each week on their social media channels. This includes static graphs each week and a fortnightly 60 second video which has a presenter explaining the data with additional context and calls to action. You can find these and UKHSA’s other content on winter vaccines on the UKHSA social media channels:

• X (formerly Twitter)
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• BlueSky

UKHSA Virus Watch: The latest data on the viruses making us sick this winter. To see an example (last seasons Christmas episode) on YouTube. Throughout the 2026 to 2027 season these will be available on UKHSA’s Youtube channel

Vaccine uptake data from UKHSA

The government’s official statistics on flu vaccine coverage for eligible GP registered patients, school-aged children and frontline healthcare workers are managed by UKHSA through the ImmForm website. This data is used to formally evaluate the programme year-on-year and is reported annually to the World Health Organization. For each of these vaccine uptake collections, final end of season data is published in the corresponding annual reports each spring, and these annual reports also summarise decades of data from previous seasons, providing historical trends. For the previous seasons annual vaccine uptake reports see the GP patients winter season 2025 to 2026, school age children winter 2025 to 2026 and healthcare workers winter 2025 to 2026.

For the 2026 to 2027 season monthly vaccine uptake will be published as official statistics at 2pm on the following dates:

School Age Manual survey collection	Publication Date 2pm
October	Thursday, 26 November 2026
November	Wednesday, 23 December 2026
December	Thursday, 28 January  2027
January	Thursday, 25 February  2027

Frontline Heath and Social care workers Survey	Publication Date 2pm
October	Thursday, 26 November 2026
November	Wednesday, 23 December 2026
December	Thursday, 28 January  2027
January	Thursday, 25 February  2027
February	Thursday, 25 March 2027

GP Survey Month	Publication Date 2pm
October	Thursday, 26 November 2026
November	Wednesday, 23 December 2026
December	Thursday, 28 January  2027
January	Thursday, 25 February  2027
February	Thursday, 25 March 2027

Further communication on data collection tools, collection timelines and user guides will be shared with stakeholders separately. For any queries related to the data collections or official statistics, please contact the relevant mailbox as follows:

• seasonal flu vaccine uptake in children of school age: childfluvac@ukhsa.gov.uk
• seasonal flu vaccine uptake in GP patients: influenza@ukhsa.gov.uk
• seasonal flu vaccine uptake in healthcare workers: hcwvac@ukhsa.gov.uk

Link to the monthly data for the 2026 to 2027 season.

Note that as for previous seasons there will be specific webpages for each collection, but the webpage addresses are not available in advance of the pages being published.

However, the collections will be named as follows:

• seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in school age children: monthly data, 2026 to 2027
• seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in GP patients: monthly data, 2026 to 2027
• seasonal influenza vaccine uptake in frontline healthcare workers: monthly data, 2026 to 2027

Operational data from NHSE

For commissioners and operational team managing the flu programme, near real-time activity and uptake data is made available by NHS England on the Federated Data Platform (FDP). This operational data is automatically extracted from provider IT systems daily to give the latest activity at local level, and uptake data which can be interrogated by different location and demographics. Flu vaccination data is published on NHS.UK. FDP flu data complements the official statistics published by UKHSA.

Please note, the flu vaccine uptake data available via the FDP provides an early operational view based on raw extracts from GP IT systems. While useful for immediate local-level insights, these figures have not yet undergone the detailed validation and analysis required for public health reporting.

Government official statistics on flu vaccine uptake are published by UKHSA – through ImmForm – and are reviewed, quality-assured, and adjusted to account for anomalies before publication. These validated datasets are the recommended source for public health decision-making and reporting.

If discrepancies are identified between FDP and UKHSA data, please report them to UKHSA at influenza@ukhsa.gov.uk.

Vaccine Supply

UKHSA ImmForm platform - ordering centrally supplied vaccines in the UK and viewing vaccine uptake data in England

UKHSA ImmForm system

The UKHSA ImmForm system is a cornerstone of the UK’s immunisation infrastructure, supporting the national immunisation programmes by ensuring cost-effective and timely procurement and distribution of vaccines:

• enabling the ordering of vaccines and medicinal products via a single, secure platform
• collection, analysis, and reporting accurate vaccine uptake data to support disease surveillance and public health decision-making

Registering for an ImmForm account

To register, visit the ImmForm login page and click “Register for an Account”. You’ll choose from three options:

• register to order products to an existing delivery point or revalidate an existing account
• register to view or upload vaccine uptake data
• create a new delivery point for product ordering

Users need to ensure all required fields are completed to avoid delays to registering.

Remember:

• ordering accounts require a registered NHS healthcare professional and regulatory body number
• local authorities wanting access to ImmForm uptake data will need to seek approval from local NHS England Screening and Immunisation teams

A user guide is published on GOV.UK. ImmForm have also started to create instructional videos on YouTube: How to request a change to an existing ImmForm product ordering account and Completing an application for a new ImmForm account form.

GPs in England can view their LAIV allocations

GPs in England can monitor their vaccine allocations for the 2026 to 2027 flu season directly in ImmForm – no need to contact the Help Desk.

Log in and access the “Products Available to Order (Allocation Managed)” report under Reports > Stock Management Reports.

User guide published on the ImmForm website: User guide name: How to view allocations for allocation-managed products. A guide video is also available on YouTube.

How to view vaccine orders in ImmForm

Order Vaccine users can view their organisation’s vaccine orders, including batch numbers and delivery confirmations, via the “All Orders” report under Reports > PowerBI Reports > Orders/Dispatches.

User guide “How to view past orders in the ‘All Orders Report’” published on the ImmForm website. A guide video is available on YouTube.

Children’s vaccine supply

Timing of the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) availability for the 2026/27 children’s flu programme

Flu vaccines are ‘just in time’ products that are brought to market each year under very pressurised timelines and in very large volumes, following the WHO strain selection announcement in late February each year.

Vaccines are biological products and manufacture can sometimes be unpredictable. There are multiple vaccine ‘platforms’ (e.g. egg-based and cell-based), and vaccine production systems differ across these platforms which can impact on timelines for individual products. LAIV is an egg-based vaccine and additionally a ‘live’ vaccine, which adds further complexity and risk to the manufacturing process. This must be taken into account when managing expectations around LAIV availability each year.

Feedback suggested that confirming dates for LAIV availability in late summer (once vaccine production has reached specific milestones) can create operational challenge, and subsequently UKHSA shared anticipated dates for LAIV availability for general practice and the school age immunisation service earlier than usual.

However, as usual these dates remain subject to change, and planning for vaccination sessions should continue to take account of this.

The latest and most accurate information on all vaccines for the 2026/27 children’s flu programme supplied by UKHSA will be provided on the ImmForm news page, so please check back regularly.

Vaccines and availability

All flu vaccines supplied to general practice (GPs) and the school age immunisation service (SAIS) in England for the 2026/27 children’s flu programme will be available to order via ImmForm.

The 2 vaccines that will be available, indicative ordering dates and the groups that these vaccines should be ordered for are set out in the table below.

Community pharmacies who are delivering flu vaccinations to children can access Fluenz® (LAIV) via the Federated Data Platform (FDP) managed by NHS England. For more information please see the amendment to the annual flu letter and the service specification.

UKHSA does not supply any flu vaccines for patients aged 18 years and over.

Please refer to guidance from your respective health departments for arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Vaccine	Manufacturer	Available to order for	Anticipated order opening for providers	Anticipated first deliveries
Fluenz® (LAIV)	AstraZeneca	All children from 2 years of age to school year 11 Children in clinical risk groups aged 2 to <18 years (note 1)	week beginning 31 August 2026	week beginning 7 September 2026
Cell Based Trivalent Influenza Vaccine (Surface Antigen, Inactivated) (IIVc)	Seqirus	Children in clinical risk groups aged 6 months to <2 years Children aged from 2 to <18 years old in clinical risk groups for whom LAIV is clinically contraindicated or otherwise unsuitable Healthy children from 2 years old to those in school year 11, for whom LAIV is unsuitable (note 2)	week beginning 31 August 2026	week beginning 7 September 2026

Note 1: unless LAIV clinically contraindicated or otherwise unsuitable

Note 2: for example, due to objection to LAIV on the grounds of its porcine gelatine content

Editing Fluenz® (LAIV) orders

Due to the anticipated large volume of orders for Fluenz® in the first few weeks of ordering, orders for this product will be assembled as soon as they are placed and will not be editable. If you need to make an adjustment to your order after it has been placed, you will need to contact helpdesk@immform.org.uk for assistance.

LAIV ordering information for General Practice

Ordering controls will be in place for general practices, to enable UKHSA to balance supply with demand. These controls will work by allocating an amount of LAIV based on the number of registered eligible patients and will be tailored to each practice.

UKHSA expects to be able to accommodate the following, however at this time, this information remains subject to change:

• each GP practice will initially be allocated sufficient LAIV to vaccinate at least 45% of their eligible patients (all 2 and 3 year-olds, plus children in clinical risk groups from age 4 to <18 years) when ordering commences
• increases to these allocations will be made in response to demand and vaccine availability
• requests for extra vaccine will be considered on a case-by-case basis throughout the ordering period. Requests for additional vaccine should be sent to the helpdesk (helpdesk@immform.org.uk) and should be sent in good time before your order cut-off
• out of schedule deliveries will be by exception only

Allocations

You can view how many packs of LAIV your practice has available to order by clicking on the following link to the Allocation report (you will be asked to log in with your ImmForm credentials).

You will then need to select:

• Allocations; followed by
• Products available to order (Allocation managed) report

Please note that this report is not updated in real-time and so may not account for any orders or allocation amendments made within the last 30-45 minutes.

Multi-Branch Practices and LAIV allocations

GP practices or groups that operate over multiple sites but are part of the same organisation will have a joint allocation (as in previous years), even where each site has a unique ImmForm account. This means that it is possible for one site to potentially order all of the available vaccine for the group, unless there is local agreement on how the allocated volume is shared. UKHSA recommend that this agreement is in place before ordering opens to reduce the risk of supply interruption. The information above allows practices to estimate the amount of vaccine they will be initially allocated, and how it should be split between all sites.

LAIV ordering information for SAIS providers

Please note the default weekly ordering cap for SAIS teams has been reduced from 450 packs (4,500 doses), to 432 packs (4,320 doses). This adjustment has been made to increase efficiency, allowing for fewer deliveries in fewer vehicles, and a reduction in our carbon footprint.

Where the default cap is insufficient and a provider needs a larger weekly volume of vaccine to deliver the programme (for example where a provider covers a large area using a single account), a higher weekly cap should be requested via the UKHSA Flu Vaccine Operations team by emailing childfluvaccine@ukhsa.gov.uk, please provide your ImmForm account number or Org Code and the increased volume required. Requests should be made by Friday 21 August to ensure that accounts are set up correctly before vaccine ordering commences.

For one-off larger orders during the ordering period, requests should be made via helpdesk@immform.org.uk.

Inactivated flu vaccine ordering

The Cell Based Trivalent Influenza Vaccine (Surface Antigen, Inactivated) (IIVc) will be available to order, in a single dose pack. Order controls will also be in place for this vaccine as follows:

• for GPs, there will be an initial cap of 10 doses/packs per week
• for school-age providers, there will be a cap of 450 doses/packs per week

Influenza vaccines for the 2026/27 season

Information on all influenza vaccines that will be marketed in the UK for the 2026/27 season are available on GOV.UK.

Supplier [note 1]	Product	Vaccine type [note 2]	Age indications	Ovalbumin content micrograms/dose	Contact details
AstraZeneca UK Ltd	Fluenz®	LAIV (live attenuated influenza vaccine) supplied as nasal spray suspension, egg-cultured (LAIV)	From 24 months to less than 18 years of age	Less than 0.024 micrograms per 0.2 ml dose	0800 783 0033
Sanofi	Vaxigrip	Inactivated influenza vaccine, split virion, egg cultured (IIVe)	From 6 months	Equal to or less than 0.05 micrograms per 0.5 ml dose	0800 854 430
CSL Seqirus UK	Cell-based Trivalent Influenza Vaccine Seqirus▼	Inactivated influenza vaccine surface antigen, cell cultured (IIVc)	From 6 months	Egg-free	0345 0093 804
Sanofi	Supemtek TIVr▼	Inactivated influenza vaccine, recombinant, cell cultured (IIVr)	From 18 years	None	0800 854 430
Sanofi	Efluelda TIV-HD▼	Inactivated influenza vaccine, split virion, 60 micrograms HA/strain, egg cultured (IIV-HD)	From 60 years	Equal to or less than 1 microgram per 0.5ml dose	0800 854 430
CSL Seqirus UK	Adjuvanted Trivalent Influenza Vaccine Seqirus ▼	Inactivated influenza vaccine surface antigen, adjuvanted with MF59C.1, egg cultured (aIIV)	From 50 years	Equal to or less than 1 microgram per 0.5ml dose	0345 0093 804

Note 1: Viatris are not supplying flu vaccines to the UK market in 2026 to 2027.

Note 2: All vaccines marketed for the 2026 to 2027 season are trivalent.