COVID-19 spring vaccination programme 2025 (WHC/2024/047)
Letter to health professionals about the COVID-19 spring vaccinations with aims and cohorts.
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Details
Status:
Action.
Category:
Public health.
Title:
COVID-19 spring vaccination programme 2025.
Date of expiry / review:
Not applicable.
For action by:
- Chief executives, health boards/trusts.
- Immunisation leads, health boards / trusts.
- Immunisation coordinators, health boards.
- Vaccination operational leads, health boards / trusts.
- COVID-19 vaccination leads, health boards / trusts.
- Medical directors, health boards / trusts.
- Directors of primary care, health boards / trusts.
- Nurse executive directors, health boards / trusts.
- Chief pharmacists, health boards / trusts.
- Directors of public health, health boards / trusts.
- Executive Director of Public Health, Public Health Wales.
- Head Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, Public Health Wales.
- Director of Vaccination Delivery, Vaccination.
- Programme Wales, NHS Executive.
- Community Pharmacy Wales.
- General Practitioner Council, Wales.
- General practitioners.
- Community pharmacists
Sender:
Dr Keith Reid, Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Public Health).
Health, Social Care and Early Years Group Welsh Government contacts:
Vaccination Division,
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park,
Cardiff.
CF10 3NQ.
Email: wg.vaccinationsprogrammeteam@gov.wales
COVID-19 spring vaccination programme 2025
Dear colleagues,
The Welsh Government has accepted the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which has advised a spring COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to our most vulnerable citizens in 2025.
The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is the prevention of severe COVID-19 disease (hospitalisation and mortality).
Eligible cohorts
The JCVI advise that a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to:
- adults aged 75 years and over
- residents in a care home for older adults
- individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book)
This vaccination should be offered around 6 months after the last vaccine dose, although operational flexibility around the timing of the spring dose in relation to the last vaccine dose is considered appropriate (with a minimum interval of three months between doses). More information on operational flexibility will be provided in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book.
This letter is aimed at health professionals who are responsible for commissioning and delivering the COVID-19 vaccination programme in Wales. We encourage you to share this guidance with all those involved in delivering the programme in your area.
Programme start and end date
The COVID-19 spring programme will run between 1 April and 30 June 2025. There will be some limited flexibility into July, for those who are unable to receive a vaccination within the main programme window, due to illness.
Vaccine supply
The vaccine products to be used in the spring programme 2025 will be set out in the relevant Green Book chapter alongside clinical advice on their use.
Programme ambitions
Health boards are expected to continue to maximise vaccine uptake, minimise vaccine waste, retain their focus on reaching the most vulnerable, and understand and address inequity by ensuring access for all eligible people.
With this in mind, we expect:
- all those eligible for a spring vaccination to receive an invite for vaccination
- health boards should make every effort to maximise uptake across all cohorts ensuring:
- uptake levels are maintained or improved [footnote 1] for those over 75 years of age and those resident in a care home for older adults, and that every effort is made to achieve 75% uptake for these cohorts
- all possible interventions which could improve uptake [footnote 1] for the immunosuppressed cohort are explored and acted on, including removing any barriers to vaccination
- the gap is reduced between uptake rates [footnote 1] in the least and most deprived areas of the health board
When planning for improved uptake of vaccination local health boards should draw on experience of successful initiatives from across Wales that have demonstrated impact and seek to incorporate lessons learnt. We encourage the use of existing vaccination forums to facilitate the sharing of information on good practice to support this planning round.
I am very conscious that planning for this programme will be undertaken by teams who are still delivering the 2024 to 2025 winter respiratory vaccination programme. Your hard work in making these programmes a success is very much appreciated.
Yours sincerely
Dr Keith Reid
Deputy Chief Medical Officer (Public Health)
Footnotes
[1]. Compared to the 2024 spring programme.