COVID-19 Vaccination Surveillance in Northern Ireland, Autumn 2026

1 COVID-19 Autumn 2026 Vaccination Campaign

The COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination campaign commenced in Northern Ireland on 01 October 2026, with data in this report accurate until 08 November 2026. The campaign is delivered by a number of providers including GP, community pharmacy and Health and Social Care Trusts.

Summary

A total of 73,602 COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered since the beginning of the programme until 08 November 2026. A summary of vaccine uptake rates by all eligible groups covered in this report can be found in figure 1.1 below.

Figure 1.1: Cumulative COVID-19 Autumn 2026/27 vaccination uptake by eligible group in Northern Ireland.

1.1 75 years and over

The estimated vaccination uptake this year until 08 November 2026 can be seen for those in the 75 years and over group in the figure below. Last years autumn COVID-19 autumn vaccination programme had a final estimated uptake of 56.7% for this eligible group. COVID-19 Autumn 2025 Vaccination Surveillance Report

Figure 1.2: COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination uptake in individuals aged 75 years and older by Local Government District in Northern Ireland.

Figure 1.3: COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination uptake in individuals aged 75 years and older by age band in Northern Ireland.

1.2 18-74 years immunosuppressed

The estimated vaccination uptake this year until 08 November 2026 can be seen for those in the 18-74 years immunosuppressed group in the figure below. Last years COVID-19 autumn vaccination programme had a final estimated uptake of 39.8% for this eligible group. COVID-19 Autumn 2025 Vaccination Surveillance Report

Figure 1.4: COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 74 years who were immunosuppressed by Local Government District in Northern Ireland.

Figure 1.5: COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 74 years who were immunosuppressed by age band in Northern Ireland.

1.3 Care Home residents

The estimated vaccination uptake this year until 08 November 2026 can be seen for Care Home residents in the figure below. Last years COVID-19 autumn vaccination programme had a final estimated uptake of 67.7% for this eligible group. COVID-19 Autumn 2025 Vaccination Surveillance Report

Figure 1.6: COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination uptake in care home residents by Trust in Northern Ireland.

2 Eligibility for vaccinations

The Green Book is published by UK Health Security Agency and provides information for public health professionals on immunisation, including COVID-19 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 COVID-19 vaccination campaign outlining who is eligible for vaccination under the current programme. For more information on the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Northern Ireland, including eligibility for vaccination, please visit Health NI | Autumn 2026 COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign.

3 Methods

Data is presented to the end of the last reporting week for COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations, Sunday 08 November 2026.

All vaccinations were recorded on the Northern Ireland Vaccine Management System (VMS).

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

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.

3.1 Definitions and data sources

Vaccine uptake (%) is defined as the number of vaccinations administered (numerator) divided by the eligible population (denominator). Vaccine uptake is included in this report for those eligible groups in which a denominator is available.

COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccination is defined as any vaccination recorded on the VMS administered from 01 October 2026 to the end of the campaign.

3.1.1 Adult vaccinations by age group

Age for adult vaccinations is based on age at 31 March 2027. The age group based population is based on the NISRA mid-year estimate (2025).

3.1.2 Immunosuppressed individuals

Individuals who were ‘immunosuppressed’ were determined using the reason for vaccination ‘immunosuppressed’, as populated on the VMS. The population who were ‘immunosuppressed’ was determined using data from the national General Practice Intelligence Platform (GPIP) extracted at the beginning of the Autumn 2026 campaign. Vaccine uptake for the adult ‘immunosuppressed’ population was estimated in this report.

3.1.3 Care home residents

Care home residents were those recorded as a care home resident with a valid RQIA care home registration number on VMS. The care home resident population was based on the beds occupied reported in the Northern Ireland RQIA Census of Bed Availability in Registered Care Homes in Northern Ireland (December 2023). Vaccine uptake in care home residents was estimated in this report.

4 Supplementary tables

Table 1: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake by eligible group in Northern Ireland.

Group	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
75 years and over	62,083	167,417	37.1
18-74 years 'immunosuppressed'	10,035	40,452	24.8
Care Home residents	6,790	13,490	50.3

Table 2: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake in individuals aged 75 years and over by Local Government District in Northern Ireland.

LGD	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
Antrim and Newtownabbey	5,437	12,981	41.9
Ards and North Down	8,700	19,660	44.3
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	6,078	18,376	33.1
Belfast	10,205	24,518	41.6
Causeway Coast and Glens	4,507	14,119	31.9
Derry City and Strabane	4,214	11,720	36.0
Fermanagh and Omagh	2,490	10,894	22.9
Lisburn and Castlereagh	6,587	14,011	47.0
Mid Ulster	2,371	11,626	20.4
Mid and East Antrim	5,168	14,152	36.5
Newry, Mourne and Down	4,860	15,360	31.6

Table 3: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake in individuals aged 75 years and over by age band in Northern Ireland.

Age Band	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
75-79	24,357	72,152	33.8
80+	37,726	95,265	39.6

Table 4: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 74 years who were immunosuppressed by Local Government District in Northern Ireland.

LGD	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
Antrim and Newtownabbey	797	2,885	27.6
Ards and North Down	1,258	3,562	35.3
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon	1,209	4,553	26.6
Belfast	1,653	7,831	21.1
Causeway Coast and Glens	626	2,993	20.9
Derry City and Strabane	883	3,054	28.9
Fermanagh and Omagh	483	2,367	20.4
Lisburn and Castlereagh	1,078	3,426	31.5
Mid Ulster	387	2,915	13.3
Mid and East Antrim	701	2,800	25.0
Newry, Mourne and Down	948	3,804	24.9

Table 5: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake in individuals aged 18 to 74 years who were immunosuppressed by age band in Northern Ireland.

Age Band	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
18-24	130	1,177	11.0
25-29	120	1,216	9.9
30-34	237	1,745	13.6
35-39	319	2,478	12.9
40-44	465	3,075	15.1
45-49	551	3,595	15.3
50-54	752	3,911	19.2
55-59	1,171	5,154	22.7
60-64	1,653	6,243	26.5
65-69	2,095	6,233	33.6
70-74	2,542	5,625	45.2

Table 6: Number of COVID-19 Autumn 2026 vaccinations and vaccination uptake in care home residents by Trust in Northern Ireland.

Trust	Number vaccinated	Population	Vaccine uptake (%)
BHSCT	1,385	2,680	51.7
NHSCT	1,890	3,521	53.7
SEHSCT	1,682	3,201	52.5
SHSCT	927	2,224	41.7
WHSCT	893	1,864	47.9