NHS England has confirmed that from September, all adults aged 65-74 who are living with a chronic respiratory condition or who have a suppressed immune system will be offered the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
Eligible people will be able to receive their jab from their local GP practice or, in some parts of the country, at their local high street pharmacy from 1st September, to protect themselves from serious illness and hospitalisation.
Find out more in NHS England’s press release.
The bipartite letter from the UKHSA & NHS England has also been published. This letter is aimed at those responsible for commissioning and operationally delivering the national NHS RSV older adults vaccination programme in England. The Government has also published an annex which includes a detailed list of those adults 65 to 74 in either of the following 2 clinical at risk groups:
1. Chronic respiratory disease including those with:
- poorly controlled asthma
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema
- bronchiectasis
- cystic fibrosis
- interstitial lung fibrosis
- pneumoconiosis
- bronchopulmonary dysplasia
2. Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment: see the Green Book for further details.
Since September 2024, RSV vaccination has been routinely available to older adults as they turn 75 years of age, with an initial catch up also offered to adults who were aged 75 to 79 years on 1 September 2024.
The programme was expanded on 1 April 2026 to also include all adults aged 80 years and over and all residents in care homes for older adults, who had not already received a dose through the initial programme.
The RSV communications toolkit will be updated in due course to reflect the expansion ahead of the programme starting in September.
