NHS England will ditch free flu vaccines for 50 to 64-year-olds and secondary school children aged 11 to 15 this year, new guidance has revealed.

While the groups – which were eligible for the influenza jab in the 2021/22 seasons – will no longer receive the vaccine, at risk individuals between six months and 65 years of age can still get their annual dose.

In the document, published this week, the NHS said the move is ‘in line with pre-pandemic recommendations’.

It added: ‘Seasonal flu vaccination remains an important public health intervention and a key priority for 2022/23 to reduce morbidity, mortality and hospitalisation associated with flu at a time when the NHS and social care will be managing winter pressures, potentially including further outbreaks of COVID-19.

‘Eligible cohorts for flu vaccination are based on the advice of the [Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] and Department of Health and Social Care.’

However, minutes from a meeting of the JCVI in December 2021 show the committee recommended a rollout of the vaccine to these two groups.

It reads: ‘The overall priority should be to extend the childhood programme in secondary schools as this would be more cost effective and likely to have a greater impact on morbidity and mortality compared with vaccinating 50 to 64-year-olds. 

‘JCVI remained supportive of fully extending the childhood programme on a routine basis which is highly cost effective as per its original recommendation in 2012. 

‘The committee agreed that it would be acceptable to vaccinate 50-64 year olds for the 2022/23 season if funding [is] available but the latter was the lowest priority as vaccinating this group was borderline in terms of cost-effectiveness.’

As well as those aged six months to 65 years old in ‘clinical risk groups’, those eligible for the vaccine next winter include carers, care home residents, pregnant women, people aged 65 and over and close contacts of people who are immunocompromised.

A source close to the decision criticised the change in eligibility, and said it appears to be financially driven.

He told The Telegraph: ‘Given that the next pandemic might be caused by the influenza virus it seems extremely reckless to cut the flu vaccine programme.’

Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, added: ‘No one has communicated to the public that the offer of flu jabs this year is going to be any different to last year.

‘Last year, over-50s were being told they should get their jab, now the advice has changed, but no one is explaining why. It’s going to cause so much confusion.’

According to the Office for National Statistics, 483 deaths from influenza were recorded in England 2020 – down from 1,160 the year before.

A Whitehall source told The Telegraph: ‘We are getting back to business as usual. It made sense to expand the [flu jab] offer during the pandemic when we were concerned about the twin dangers of Covid and flu, but we do need to get working in the way we used to, as part of living with Covid.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article