Adult immunisations

The World Health Organization Immunization Agenda 2030 envisions a world where everyone, everywhere, at every age, fully benefits from vaccines to improve health and well-being. It aims to maintain hard-won gains in immunization, recover from the disruptions caused by COVID-19, and achieve even more – by leaving no one behind, in any situation or at any stage of life.

The goal for North Tyneside is to achieve vaccination coverage levels that protect as many individuals as possible and to achieve effective herd immunity. To do this we need to tackle the inequalities in vaccine uptake.

It is likely that higher flu vaccine uptake has been partly driven by concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and a greater understanding about the role of vaccines in preventing illness, as well as, in a small number of circumstances, the influenza vaccination being offered to eligible patients when they presented for their COVID-19 vaccination or booster. The national programme wants to build on the momentum of this achievement in the influenza programme and the successful roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, to continue to encourage influenza vaccine uptake in those who are eligible. Improved uptake in those in clinical risk groups, and pregnant women should be achieved to provide direct protection to those at increased risk from influenza.

The national flu letter states the need to support those who are living in the most deprived areas, from ethnic minorities and other underserved communities to have as high flu vaccination uptake as the population as a whole. High quality dedicated and interculturally competent engagement with local communities, employers, faith and advocacy groups will therefore be required. Providers should therefore ensure they have robust plans in place for tackling health inequalities for all underserved groups to ensure equality of access to the influenza vaccine. Efforts should be made to show improvement in coverage in those groups who were more than 5% lower than the national average.

General practices and school providers must demonstrate a 100% flu vaccine offer this season by ensuring all eligible patients are offered the opportunity to be vaccinated by active call and recall mechanisms, supplemented with opportunistic offers where pragmatic. The aim of the influenza programme for 2022 to 2023 is to demonstrate a 100% offer and to achieve at least the uptake levels of 2021 to 2022 for each cohort, and ideally exceed them.

Flu vaccination uptake rates remain low for those in clinical at-risk groups. The risk of death or serious illness is high in some of these at-risk groups and focused attention should be given to understand barriers and enablers and improve uptake.

Uptake of the flu vaccination in pregnant women is low. North Tyneside should understand if there are any improvement plans from maternity and/or NHS England and NHS Improvement. Unlike the flu vaccination programme, coverage is much higher for the pertussis vaccination offered in pregnancy. It would be beneficial to understand why there is such a difference. Whilst pertussis vaccine coverage rates are high (85%), there is still 15% of pregnant women whose babies will not have the protection from whooping cough and areas for improvement should be considered.

PPV and Shingles vaccination coverage rates should be given attention to improve timely access to the vaccination when individuals become eligible. Local services should aim to make Shingles immunisation available for 100% of the eligible group in accordance with the Green Book and other official guidance. Local services must aim for 100% of relevant individuals being offered PPV immunisation in accordance with the Green Book and other official guidance. There may be some benefit to do some joint work with the flu and PPV programme to improve vaccine acceptance rates for those in clinical at-risk groups.

North Tyneside should consider the use of the Shingles Toolkit available from NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve coverage rates.

North Tyneside should understand if there are plans from NHS England and NHS Improvement to widen access to Shingles and Pneumococcal vaccinations for example via pharmacy like the flu vaccination programme.

Consideration should be given to seek service user views as to how to improve vaccine acceptance within the borough.

North Tyneside should understand what action high achieving practices are taking to share positive learning across the borough.