To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason the respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme does not include people who are 80 or older.
Answered on
12 September 2024
The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination programme for adults turning 75 years old began on 1 September 2024 in England, alongside a one-off catch-up programme to rapidly vaccinate all those already aged 75 to 79 years old. Older adults will remain eligible until the day before their 80th birthday, except for people who turn 80 years old in the first year, who have until 31 August 2025 to get vaccinated.
When a new vaccination programme is introduced, the Government must make difficult decisions on who to offer the vaccine to. These decisions are based on advice the Department receives from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which includes evidence of the impact a vaccination has in different groups, as well as the capacity of the system to deliver the programme alongside all other healthcare priorities.
The structure of an immunisation programme is dynamic and the JCVI will continue to review the data available on who should be offered an RSV immunisation. It was noted in the JCVI’s advice from June 2023 that ‘an extension to the initial programme would be considered when there is more certainty about protection in the very elderly and the real-world impact of the programme in the 75- to 80-year-olds’. The JCVI’s statement on the introduction of an RSV vaccination programme is available at the following link: