Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent expert advisory committee, which advises UK governments about immunisation and makes recommendations about vaccination schedules and vaccine safety.
As part of its most recent review of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the JCVI published advice about the eligibility for autumn 2025 and spring 2026. I have accepted this advice in relation to Wales.
Eligibility for the autumn 2025 COVID-19 programme will be narrower than in recent years and with similar eligibility to the current spring programme. This is in line with a transition to a narrower programme overall, as high levels of population immunity have developed over the past four-and-a-half years.
The focus of the programme is towards targeted vaccination for people who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. This includes older adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.
In autumn 2025 and spring 2026, the following groups will be eligible for a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine:
- Residents in a care home for older adults
- All adults aged 75 years and over
- People aged six months to 74 years in a clinical risk group, as defined in the immunosuppression sections of tables three and four of the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book
NHS organisations are preparing for the autumn COVID-19 programme.
The JCVI continues to review eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccination programme, to ensure it meets future public health needs.