It’s Vaccine Season: protect yourself and others
Vaccines help protect us from serious illness. They also help protect people who are more at risk. If you are offered a vaccine, please take up the offer.
This autumn, you may be offered a vaccine because of your age, your health, pregnancy or where you live. Some vaccines are given once. Some need more than one dose. Others need to be repeated.
Flu and COVID-19 vaccines remain important this autumn, with extra protection against RSV and MenB for eligible people.
Why do we focus on vaccines in autumn?
Autumn and winter bring more respiratory infections, such as flu, RSV and COVID-19.
These infections spread more easily when it’s cold and people spend more time indoors. They can also cause more serious illness in people who are at higher risk.
Vaccination helps protect people before these infections spread widely.
RSV: new protection for some people aged 65 to 74
RSV is a common virus. It often causes a cough, runny nose and other cold-like symptoms.
But RSV can also cause serious illness. This includes bronchiolitis and pneumonia, with babies and older people are most at risk.
Who can have the RSV vaccine?
From 1 September 2026, the RSV vaccine will be offered to some people aged 65 to 74 for the first time.
You may be eligible if you have:
- a long-term lung condition, such as COPD
- a weakened immune system because of illness or treatment
The vaccine is also offered to:
- people aged 75 and over
- people living in a care home for older adults
- pregnant women from 28 weeks of pregnancy
Full eligibility for the RSV vaccine can be found on the NHS website.
Do I need an RSV vaccine every year?
No – this is different from flu.
The RSV vaccine is currently a single dose. You do not need to have it every year.
If you have already had an RSV vaccine, you should not have another one unless you are advised to do so.
Eligible people aged 65 to 74 will be invited by their GP practice to book their RSV vaccination.
Pregnant? The RSV vaccine protects your baby
RSV can be very serious for young babies.
Having the vaccine during pregnancy helps your body make antibodies. These can pass to your baby before birth.
This helps protect your baby during the first few months of life. The RSV vaccine is recommended during every pregnancy.
Pregnant and 28 weeks or more? Ask your maternity team about the RSV vaccine, or book with your GP practice.
Flu can knock you out. A jab is your best protection.
Flu is much more than a bad cold. It can knock you out for days and can lead to serious illness, hospital care and even death.
Like RSV, the risk is higher for older people, pregnant women, young children and people with some health conditions.
Last winter, flu vaccination helped prevent between 86,900 and 125,100 hospital admissions and saved an estimated 5,800 to 8,900 lives in the UK.
But too many people who are at higher risk miss out.
Last year, only 4 in 10 people under 65 with a health condition had their flu vaccine. That means 6 in 10 were left without the protection offered by the vaccine.
If you are offered a flu vaccine, please take it. A jab is your best protection against flu.
Why do I need a flu vaccine every year?
There are two main reasons.
- Flu viruses change. The vaccine is updated each year to match the flu viruses most likely to spread.
- Protection also reduces over time.
This means that last year’s flu vaccine does not give you the same protection for this year’s flu season.
That is why the flu vaccine is offered every year.
When will flu vaccination start?
Some people can have their flu vaccine from 1st September. This includes:
- pregnant women
- children aged 2 or 3
- children from Reception to Year 11 (given in school)
- some children with health conditions
Most eligible adults can have their flu vaccine from 1st October. This includes:
- everyone aged 65 and over
- adults under 65 with certain health conditions
- people living in long-stay residential care
- some carers
- close contacts of people with a weakened immune system
- eligible frontline health and social care workers
- people experiencing homelessness aged 16 and over
Visit the NHS website for full flu jab eligibility, and for flu information in easy-read format.
If you are eligible for a flu vaccine, you will be invited you to book. Please wait to be contacted by your GP Practice or the NHS.
Why are there so many vaccines?
It can feel like there are a lot of vaccines to keep track of. But there is a simple reason: vaccines work.
Over the years, scientists have developed vaccines that can prevent more infections, serious illness and deaths.
Vaccines have helped make diseases such as polio and meningitis much less common. The UK has been polio-free since 2003, thanks to vaccination and continued monitoring.
As we learn more, new vaccines are developed to protect people from more illnesses and to give better protection to those most at risk.
Different vaccines also need different schedules. Some give long-lasting protection after one dose or a short course. Others need to be repeated because protection reduces over time.
Flu is different again. The virus changes, so the flu vaccine is updated and given every year.
The growing number of vaccines is not a sign that they are failing. It is a sign of how much more we can now prevent.
If you are offered a vaccine, there is a reason for it. Take up the protection that is available to you.
COVID-19 vaccination
COVID-19 vaccination is now focused on people most at risk of serious illness.
For autumn 2026, it will be offered to:
- people aged 75 and over
- people living in a care home for older adults
- people aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system
These are the groups most likely to benefit from the vaccine.
COVID-19 vaccines, like flu vaccines, may be offered again as the advice changes. Go to the NHS website for full COVID-19 vaccine eligibility.
If you are eligible, you can book your COVID-19 vaccine online now, with appointments available from 1st October.
Starting university
If you are starting university for the first time this autumn, you may be eligible for the special MenB vaccine offer for 2026/27. Two doses are need for maximum protection.
You should also check that you have had:
- MenACWY
- two doses of MMR or the appropriate catch-up vaccine
- HPV vaccination
If you have missed any of these jabs, catch up jabs are available through GP practices. The NHS childhood vaccination schedule now uses MMRV, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
Starting university? Book your MenB vaccination on the NHS website.
Vaccines protect more than one person
Vaccines help your immune system fight infection and reduce your risk of serious illness.
They also help protect the people around you – your children, parents, grandparents, older relatives and anyone with a weakened immune system.
Taking up your vaccine is not just about protecting yourself. It is a simple way to help protect the people you care about.
Not sure what vaccines you’ve had?
You can check your vaccination record in the NHS App.
If you are not sure whether you have had a vaccine, check your record first. If you have missed a vaccine, you may still be able to catch up.
Check your NHS App today. If you are offered a vaccine, please take it.
Autumn vaccine guide: At a glance
| Vaccine | When? | Who can have it? | How to get your vaccine |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSV | All year | Pregnant women, adults aged 75+, care home residents and some people aged 65–74 with certain health conditions. 🔗 Full RSV eligibility. | GP practices will send invitations |
| Flu | September or October | Older people, pregnant women, children, people with some health conditions and other eligible groups. 🔗 Full flu eligibility. | GP practices and the NHS will send invitations |
| COVID-19 | From October 1st | People aged 75+, care home residents and people with a weakened immune system. 🔗 Full COVID-19 eligibility. | Book online at NHS.uk |
| MenB (Meningitis/Sepsis) | 2026/27 only | Some 17–18-year-olds and eligible first-time university students under 25. 🔗 Full MenB eligibility. | Book online at NHS.uk |
| MenACWY (Meningitis/Sepsis) | Check before university | Teenagers and young adults who have missed their vaccine. 🔗 Childhood vaccination schedule. | Contact your GP practice if you have missed your vaccine |
| MMRV / MMR catch-up (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox)) | Check your record | Children following the routine schedule, and people who need catch-up vaccination. 🔗 Childhood vaccination schedule. | Your GP practice or school vaccination team will advise you |
| HPV | Check your record | Anyone who missed their routine vaccination. 🔗 Childhood vaccination schedule. | Contact your GP practice to check if you need a catch-up vaccine |