The Department of Health and Social Care has added TikTok to its flu-vaccination outreach in England, while separate UK Health Security Agency figures show provisional coverage below last season among two adult groups.
The campaign uses Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, which the department said is a first for this effort. It also directs eligible people to the NHS App to check which vaccines they may receive and book a flu vaccination. NHS guidance says the eligibility-check feature is not available to every App user, and online flu bookings are for people registered with a general practitioner in England.
The department said more than 10 million flu vaccinations had been delivered by its Oct. 22 announcement. Bookings opened in August, and vaccinations began in September.
For the week ending Oct. 18, UKHSA put provisional uptake at 44.1% among people aged 65 and older and 19.9% among people under 65 in clinical risk groups. Both figures were below the corresponding week last season. The agency said flu activity in England remained at baseline levels.
Children and pregnant women became eligible for the seasonal program on Sept. 1, while most adult groups, including older people and adults with certain clinical risks, became eligible on Oct. 1. UKHSA estimated that England’s 2025-26 flu vaccination program prevented 104,200 hospital admissions and 7,100 deaths.
Health Minister James Frith said vaccines “save lives” and said vaccination can help protect people and ease pressure on the National Health Service during winter. UKHSA’s first monthly uptake figures for the season, covering vaccinations given from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31, are scheduled for release Nov. 26.
