1 Summary

• A total of 568,760 influenza vaccinations have been administered since the beginning of the 2025/26 programme to 15 March 2026.
• Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake was highest in care home residents and individuals aged 65 years and over.
• Vaccine uptake was highest in Lisburn and Castlereagh Local Government District (LGD) in eligible adult cohorts reported by LGD; 65 years and over and individuals aged 18-64 years ‘at risk’.
  
• Vaccine uptake in eligible children was highest in primary school children.
• Uptake was highest in health and social care workers employed in South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT).

2 Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme 2025/26

The Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Programme 2025/26 officially commenced in Northern Ireland on 06 October 2025. Younger eligible individuals were offered vaccination from September 2025. The vaccination programme is 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 to 15 March 2026 was 568,760. Influenza vaccine uptake in eligible adults in 2025/26 to date was highest in care home residents (79.7%) and individuals aged 65 years and over (74%). Uptake of influenza vaccine uptake in eligible children was highest in primary school children at 57.9% (Figure 2.1).

Figure 2.1: Cumulative seasonal influenza vaccination uptake by eligible group in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

2.1 65 years and over

2.1.1 65 years and over by local government district

Vaccine uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over varied by LGD. Vaccine uptake was highest in Lisburn and Castlereagh (82.6%) and lowest in Mid Ulster (62.4%) (Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over by Local Government District in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.1.2 65 years and over by age band

Vaccine uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over improved with increasing age. Vaccine uptake increased from 64% in those aged 65-69 years to 87.5% in those aged 80 years and over (Figure 2.3).

Figure 2.3: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over by age band in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.2 18-64 years ‘at risk’

2.2.1 18-64 years ‘at risk’ by Local Government District

Vaccine uptake in individuals aged 18-64 years ‘at risk’ varied by LGD. Vaccine uptake was highest in Lisburn and Castlereagh (46.6%) and lowest in Fermanagh and Omagh (29.5%) and Mid Ulster (28.2%) (Figure 2.4).

Figure 2.4: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 64 years ‘at risk’ by Local Government District in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.2.2 18-64 years ‘at risk’ by age band

Vaccine uptake in individuals aged 18-64 years ‘at risk’ improved with increasing age. Vaccine uptake increased from 20.3% in those aged 18-24 years to 51.8% in those aged 60-64 years (Figure 2.5).

Figure 2.5: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 64 years ‘at risk’ by age band in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.3 Care Home residents

2.3.1 Care Home residents by Trust

Vaccine uptake in care home residents varied across Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust area; ranging from 76.2% in Southern HSC Trust (SHSCT) to 83.7% in South Eastern HSC Trust (SEHSCT) (Figure 2.6).

Figure 2.6: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in care home residents by Trust in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.4 Preschool children

2.4.1 Preschool children by Local Government District

Vaccine uptake in preschool children varied by LGD. Vaccine uptake was highest in Lisburn and Castlereagh (45.3%) and lowest in Derry City and Strabane (21.5%) (Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in preschool children by Local Government District in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.5 All Trust employed health and social care workers

2.5.1 All Trust employed health and social care workers by Trust

In Northern Ireland, the offer of seasonal influenza vaccination in 2025/26 is to all health and social care workers including those without direct patient contact. Further information on eligibility criteria is included in Section 3: Eligibility for vaccinations. Estimated vaccine uptake in all Trust employed health and social care workers varied by HSC Trust. Estimated uptake was highest in South Eastern HSC Trust (SEHSCT, 39%). Estimated uptake was lowest in Southern HSC Trust (SHSCT, 23.2%) (Figure 2.8).

Figure 2.8: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in all Trust-employed health and social care workers in Northern Ireland, 2025/26.

2.5.2 All Trust employed health and social care workers by job role

Estimated uptake was highest in Medical and Dental job roles (77.3%) in Trust employed health and social care workers. Estimated uptake was lowest in those working in job roles within Social Services (12.5%) (Figure 2.9).

Figure 2.9: Seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in all Trust-employed health and social care workers in Northern Ireland, by job role, 2025/26.

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 2025/2026.

The Green Book advises 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 2025/26 is to all health and social care workers including those without direct patient contact.

4 Methods

Data is presented to the end of the last reporting week, Sunday 15 March 2026.

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

Data is provisional and accurate at the time of extraction. Data lags exist between data of administration of the vaccine and date of recording on VMS or CHS.

Eligible groups are 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, 2025/26 programme.

Table 2: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over by Local Government District in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme

Table 3: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in individuals aged 65 years and over by age band in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 4: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 -64 years and over by Local Government District in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 5: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 -64 years and over by age band in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 6: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in care home residents by Trust in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 7: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in preschool aged children by LGD in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 8: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in health and social care workers in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.

Table 9: Number of influenza vaccinations and cumulative vaccination uptake in health and social care workers by job role in Northern Ireland, 2025/26 programme.