1 Summary

• A total of 593,308 influenza vaccinations were administered during the 2024/25 seasonal influenza vaccination programme which commenced on 07 October 2024 and ended on 31 March 2025.
• Uptake of influenza vaccination was highest in individuals aged 65 years and over and care home residents.
• Vaccine uptake in eligible children was highest in primary school children.

2 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme 2024/25

The Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme 2024/25 commenced in Northern Ireland on 07 October 2024 and ended on 31 March 2025. The vaccination programme was delivered by a number of providers including GP, community pharmacy, Health and Social Care Trusts and Trust school nursing teams. The total number of vaccinations administered during the programme was 593,308. Influenza vaccine uptake in eligible adults in 2024/25 was highest in care home residents (80%) and those aged 65 years and over (73.7%). Uptake of influenza vaccine uptake in eligible children was highest in primary school children at (64.9%) (Figure 2.1).

 

 

Figure 2.1: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake by eligible group in Northern Ireland, 2024/25.

3 Eligibility for vaccinations

The Green Book is published by UK Health Security Agency and provides information for public health professionals on immunisation, including seasonal influenza vaccination (The Green Book | Immunisation againist infectious disease). Considering this advice and that of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the Chief Medical Officer in Northern Ireland issues a letter for the seasonal influenza programme outlining who is eligible for vaccination under the current programme. For more information on the vaccination programmes in Northern Ireland, including eligibility for vaccination, please visit Health NI | Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme 2024/2025.

The Green Book advised that influenza immunisation should be provided to healthcare and social care workers in direct contact with patients/clients, i.e. frontline health and social care workers (Green Book | Chapter 19: Influenza). In Northern Ireland, the offer of seasonal influenza vaccination in 2024/25 was to all health and social care workers including those without direct patient contact.

The Green Book advice was to offer influenza vaccination to all those aged six months or older in an eligible clinical risk group. At the beginning of the 2024/25 seasonal influenza programme in Northern Ireland, vaccination was offered to all aged six months to 64 years in an eligible clinical risk group. The offer of influenza vaccination was extended on 15 January 2025 to include all individuals aged 50 to 64 years, regardless of clinical risk group. Individuals aged six months to 49 years in a clinical risk group remained eligible for vaccination.

4 Methods

Data presented to the end of the influenza vaccination programme, 31 March 2025.

All vaccinations were recorded on the Northern Ireland Vaccine Management System (VMS). Vaccinations administered as part of the schools influenza vaccination programme were recorded on the Northern Ireland Child Health System (CHS) which fed into VMS.

Data was accurate at the time of extraction, 20 May 2025. Data lags exist between date of administration of the vaccine and date of recording on VMS or CHS. Eligible groups were not mutually exclusive and individuals may be counted in more than one group. Individuals may have more than one eligibility criteria for vaccination, however most will only have one reason for vaccination recorded on VMS. This will impact estimates of vaccine uptake.

5 Supplementary tables

Table 1: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake by eligible group in Northern Ireland, 2024/25.