Vaccination Programme latest news
March 2026 (last updated 26th March)
Outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease in SE England
NHS England » For action: urgent vaccination response to outbreak of meningococcal disease linked to University of Kent and the area of Canterbury
Outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease, South East England – GOV.UK
The UKHSA’s media statement on the cases of invasive meningococcal disease notified in Kent is available here:
Cases of invasive meningococcal disease notified in Kent – GOV.UK;
this will be updated with further news as available
The UKHSA blog has been updated and is available here:
What is meningitis? Symptoms, risks and how to protect yourself – UK Health Security Agency
A UKHSA meningitis toolkit has been shared with all stakeholders to support consistent messaging and readiness. Please contact your Screening and Immunisation team if you need this resent
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New electronic vaccine incident reporting form (East of England only)
An electronic Vaccine Incident Reporting Form is now available for reporting any vaccine related incidents (storage or administration) which we hope will make reporting incidents easier. Once completed the form will automatically be sent to your local Screening and Immunisation Team and you should receive an automated acknowledgement that the form has been submitted.
Further details on NHS England — East of England » Vaccine and cold chain incident management
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Vaccine Group Directions (VGDs)
NHS Specialist Pharmacy Services (SPS) have published a webpage on the use of Vaccine Group Directions (VGDs) and a video on all changes to HMRs including VGDs.
Please refer to the SPS for information about the new VGDs : Understanding Vaccine Group Directions (VGDs) – NHS SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service – The first stop for professional medicines advice , and amendments to the Human Medicine Regulations (HMR) 2012 which will come into force on 1 April 2026; Amendments to HMR 2012 supporting vaccine supply and deployment – NHS SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service – The first stop for professional medicines advice
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School Vaccination Campaign
A new campaign from Hertfordshire Community Trust (HCT) co-produced with young people has been launched and resources are available for all providers to use and share:
The full suite of resources are available to download here: Teen vaccines campaign Spring 2026 – Google Drive
The full range of videos are available to view here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFsj64mDPKSZLQFiH4wtRLY8jx3uHRKRT
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Covid Spring 2026 campaign
The COVID-19 elearning for the spring 2026 campaign is now live on the Learning Hub (formerly eLearning for Health) https://learninghub.nhs.uk/catalogue/COVID-19-Vaccination
The accompanying webpage has also been updated: Updates made to the COVID-19 vaccination elearning programme – elearning for healthcare
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Flu 2026-2027
The national flu letter was published on 26.2.26 and is available here: National flu immunisation programme 2026 to 2027 letter – GOV.UK
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MMRV
Please continue to refer to the HCP guidance for queries related to the MMRV programme.
The MMRV vaccination: information for healthcare professionals – GOV.UK was updated on 10th February to include guidance regarding the use of ibuprofen after MMRV vaccination.
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East of England Training Resources
Training slides/certificates and recordings can all be accessed now using NHS Futures. You will need to sign up for an account and can then request access to the regional page.