COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A

Spring Vaccination Campaign start and end dates

Vaccination for all those eligible should begin from 1 April 2025. Priority should be given to older adult care homes and eligible housebound patients. The campaign end date will be 17 June 2025.

Invitations will be sent out towards the end of March.

The government has accepted Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice that the NHS should plan for a seasonal COVID-19 vaccination programme in spring 2025.

The announced and authorised cohorts for the spring 2025 programme will cover:

• 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 COVID-19: the green book, chapter 14a; Tables 3 and 4

This includes those who will turn 75 years old by 17 June 2025. They will be eligible for a vaccination at any point in the campaign. Those who are new residents in an older adult care home or become immunosuppressed by 17 June 2025 are also eligible.

Why vaccinate?

People with blood cancer should continue to take up COVID-19 vaccines when offered through seasonal programmes as it protects them from serious illness and hospitalisation.

Like all drugs, vaccines have potential side effects but the current evidence indicates that for people with immunosuppression caused by blood cancer, including CLL and SLL, or its treatments, the additional protection provided by COVID-19 vaccines is very likely to outweigh the small risk of side effects or complications.

The QResearch study also showed that continuing to have doses of COVID-19 vaccines is important for people with blood cancer to maintain their immunity. Repeat vaccination is important because COVID-19 vaccines are updated seasonally so that they are more effective against current or recently circulating variants of the virus, much like flu vaccines.