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Vaccinations
Introduction
Vaccination coverage is the best indicator of the level of protection a population will have against vaccine preventable communicable diseases. Coverage is closely related to levels of disease. This section focuses on vaccination coverage in older adults. Data for Flu, Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV) and Shingles is presented [1].Data Overview
Flu Vaccine
Influenza (also known as Flu) is a highly infections viral illness spread by droplet infection. The flu vaccination is offered to people who are at greater risk of developing serious complications if they catch flu. The seasonal influenza programme for England is set out in the Annual Flu Letter (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/annual-flu-programme). Both the flu letter and the flu plan have the support of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPhO) and Director of Nursing. Vaccination coverage is the best indicator of the level of protection a population will have against vaccine preventable communicable diseases. Immunisation is one of the most effective healthcare interventions available and flu vaccines can prevent illness and hospital admissions among these groups of people. Increasing the uptake of flu vaccine among these high risk groups should also contribute to easing winter pressure on primary care services and hospital admissions. Coverage is closely related to levels of disease. Monitoring coverage identifies possible drops in immunity before levels of disease rise.The Annual flu letter sets out the national vaccine uptake ambitions each year. In 2021 to 2022, the national ambition was to achieve at least 85 percent vaccine uptake in those aged 65 and over. Prior to this, the national vaccine uptake ambition was 75 percent in line with WHO targets [1].
Oldham's flu vaccination coverage was consistently above the England average before the Covid-19 pandemic. Rates dropped below during and after 2020/21. Despite Oldham not performing as well as the national average, rates have increased over this same time period. Oldham's current coverage is below latest targets to reach 85% coverage but has been above 75% since 2020/21. For the latest year of data (2023/24), Oldham ranks centrally across Greater Manchester and 4th highest when compared against CIPFA nearest neighbours. Across all of Oldham's CIPFA neighbours, only one Local Authority (Derby) exceeds the national average, indicating that although Oldham is performing less well than England, it performs well when compared against similar populations.
Figure 1: Population vaccination coverage: Flu (aged 65 and over) trend
Source: NHS EnglandFigure 2: Population vaccination coverage: Flu (aged 65 and over) across Greater Manchester
Source: NHS EnglandFigure 3: Population vaccination coverage: Flu (aged 65 and over) amongst CIPFA nearest neighbours
Shingles Vaccine
The shingles vaccine helps protect against shingles. It's recommended for all adults turning 65, those aged 70 to 79 and those aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system. Shingles is a common condition that causes a painful rash. It can sometimes lead to serious problems such as long-lasting pain, hearing loss or blindness. You're more likely to get shingles, and it's more likely to cause serious problems, as you get older or if you have a severely weakened immune system.The shingles vaccine helps:
- reduce your chances of getting shingles
- reduce your chances of getting serious problems if you do get shingles
Figure 4: Population vaccination coverage: Shingles (71 years) trend
Source: UK Health Security AgencyFigure 5: Population vaccination coverage: Shingles (71 years) across Greater Manchester
Source: UK Health Security AgencyFigure 6: Population vaccination coverage: Shingles (71 years) amongst CIPFA nearest neighbours
Source: UK Health Security AgencyPneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPV)
Pneumococcal disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Certain groups are at risk for severe pneumococcal disease, these include young children, the elderly and people who are in clinical risk groups. Pneumococcal infections can be non invasive such as bronchitis, otitis media or invasive such as septicaemia, pneumonia, meningitis. Cases of invasive pneumococcal infection usually peak in the winter during December and January. The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV) protects against 23 types of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium. It is thought that the PPV is around 50 percent to 70 percent effective at preventing more serious types of invasive pneumococcal infection [2] [3].Oldham's PPV coverage is on an increasing trend and latest figures reveal a rate of 72.5%, similar to the NorthWest rate of 72.7% and higher than the England average of 71.8%. Latest figure for 2023/23 show Oldham to be 5th lowest across Greater Manchester and 5th highest amongst CIPFA nearest neighbours.
Figure 7: Population vaccination coverage: PPV trend
Source: UK Health Security AgencyFigure 8: Population vaccination coverage: PPV across Greater Manchester
Source: UK Health Security AgencyFigure 9: Population vaccination coverage: PPV amongst CIPFA nearest neighbours
Source: UK Health Security Agency Further Information & Resources
NHS: Flu Vaccine Information
NHS: Shingles Vaccine Information
NHS: Pneumococcal Vaccine Information
Age UK: Flu Vaccine Information
Age UK: Shingles Vaccine Information
References
[1] https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/healthy-ageing/data#page/6/gid/1938133280/pat/6/par/E12000002/ati/402/are/E08000004/iid/30314/age/27/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1[2] https:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/healthy-ageing/data#page/6/gid/1938133280/pat/6/par/E12000002/ati/402/are/E08000004/iid/30313/age/27/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1//www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/shingles-vaccine/
[3] Pneumococcal infections, NHS Choices [online]. 2013 [cited 2013 Dec]. Available from URL: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/pages/pneumococcal-vaccination.aspx