We have received a communication from Oliver Jackson, Public Health Screening and Immunisation Manager for NHS England, advising that the Tripartite flu letter has finally been released and in a change this year, it is available by HTML only. NHSE are pushing for a PDF that will be easier for colleagues to share.
The letter can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-flu-immunisation-programme-plan
The letter outlines the cohorts eligible for vaccination this coming flu season. It is importance to highlight that the healthy 50-64yr cohort are no longer eligible. This was just a temporary extension during the pandemic. In addition, whilst the school age programme is confirmed for children of primary school age, it notes that a decision is yet to be made regarding the inclusion of children in secondary school years 7 to 11.
In terms of targets, Providers are expected to deliver a 100% offer to eligible groups. Providers should aim to equal or exceed last season’s (2022 to 2023) uptake particularly in clinical risk groups, children aged 2 and 3 years old, and pregnant women.
The Flu letter also details the vaccines which are reimbursable this year, please see below:
Reimbursable Adult Vaccines:
| Those aged 65 years and over | Those aged 18 to 64 years in eligible groups |
| Adjuvanted quadrivalent influenza vaccine (aQIV) / recombinant quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVr)
Cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) – only when every attempt to use aQIV or QIVr has been exhausted – evidence of this may be requested by the commissioner before reimbursement is agreed |
Cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) / recombinant quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVr)
Egg-grown quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVe) -only when every attempt to use QIVc or QIVr has been exhausted – evidence of this may be requested by the commissioner before reimbursement is agreed |
Reimbursable Children’s Vaccines:
| Children aged 6 months to less than 2 years in clinical risk groups | Children aged 2 to less than 18 years in clinical risk groups; 2 to 3 years, and those in eligible school age cohorts |
| Cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc), Seqirus (offered off-label) | Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), Fluenz® Tetra
Cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIVc) where LAIV is contraindicated or otherwise unsuitable (for example parents object to LAIV on the grounds of its porcine gelatine content) |
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the following addresses:
If you have a general screening query, please contact the team on england.essexatscreening@nhs.net
If you have a general immunisation query, please contact the team on england.essexatimms@nhs.net
