Advice accepted on autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme

on the COVID-19 vaccination programme for spring 2025, autumn 2025 and spring 2026. On 26th June 2025, the Government decided, in line with JCVI advice, that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered to those in the population most vulnerable to serious outcomes from COVID-19 and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.Vaccination will be offered in England in autumn 2025 to:In line with JCVI advice, frontline health and social care workers (HSCWs) and staff working in care homes for older adults will not be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination under the national programme for autumn 2025.This is following an extensive review by JCVI of the scientific evidence surrounding the impact of vaccination on transmission of the virus from HSCWs to patients, protection of HSCWs against symptoms of the disease, and staff sickness absences.In the current era of high population immunity to COVID-19, additional COVID-19 doses provide very limited, if any, protection against infection and any subsequent onward transmission of infection.For HSCWs, this means that COVID-19 vaccination likely now has only a very limited impact on reducing staff sickness absence.

Therefore, the focus of the programme is now on those at greatest risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.HSCWs who are otherwise eligible (for example because of their own health conditions) will continue to be offered the vaccine as part of the NHS programme.