There are no changes to eligible cohorts for the 2026 to 2027 programme. The following cohorts, based on the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), are announced and authorised to be eligible to receive a flu vaccination:
From 01 September 2026
- pregnant women
- all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2026
- primary school and secondary school-aged children (from reception to year 11)
- (individuals 17 years and over attending a special education needs (SEN) school and who are in a clinical risk group may also be vaccinated alongside their peers)
- all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza Chapter; see Table 19.4).
The National flu letter sets out an ask for primary care providers to prioritise the vaccination of 2 and 3 year olds as soon as the vaccine is available as this will help reduce transmission and protect those most vulnerable. To help support improvements in access and uptake, as for last season, some school-age immunisation providers will plan to deliver vaccines in nursery settings attached to primary schools for 2 to 3 year olds or deliver to this cohort in catch-up community clinics when appropriate. Guidance regarding the provision of vaccinations for 2 to 3 year olds in community pharmacies will be issued following the evaluation of the 2025 to 2026 season. See Annexe B for more about the eligibility of 2 and 3 year olds.
From 01 October 2026
those aged 65 years and over
- those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza Chapter; see Table 19.4).
- those in long-stay residential care homes
- carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer-led occupational health scheme, including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets), or Personal Health budgets, such as personal assistants
Frontline health workers
All frontline health care workers, including both clinical and non-clinical staff who have contact with patients, should be offered flu vaccine from 01 October 2026 as a vital part of the organisation’s policy for the prevention of the transmission of flu. Employers should make the vaccine accessible for all frontline staff, encourage staff to get vaccinated, and monitor the delivery of their programmes.
Social Care workers
Social care workers directly working with people clinically vulnerable to flu should also have the flu vaccine provided by their employer. There are circumstances where frontline staff, employed by specific social care providers without access to employer-led occupational health schemes, can access the vaccine through the NHS free of charge.
The national guidance ask is for ‘providers to deliver a 100% offer to eligible groups‘. That providers ‘should ensure they make firm plans to enable delivery of more vaccinations in the 2026 to 2027 season than they did in the 2025 to 2026 season [and] ensure they have robust plans in place to identify and address health inequalities for all underserved groups, and we would like to see progress on reducing unwarranted variation and improving uptake.‘