Saturday 14 May 2022 11:58 PM England will end free NHS flu jabs for over-50s but Scotland won't trends now

A major rift has emerged in the flu vaccination strategy being adopted by England and other Home Nations. 

While the Government has said England will ditch the Covid measures which saw the annual flu vaccine given free to adults aged 50-64 and secondary school children aged 11 to 15, Scotland and Wales have broken ranks and declared they will continue to offer a free jab to these groups.

Prior to the Covid pandemic, flu vaccination was offered throughout the UK annually to over-65s, primary school children and at-risk groups such as pregnant women and diabetics.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland extended the programme in winter 2020 to include millions of adults aged 50-64, as well as teenagers, to limit the number of people hospitalised with flu when wards were being over-run with Covid patients.

The return to the pre-pandemic vaccination programme in England comes at a time when experts fear the UK is heading for the worst flu season since the start of the Covid pandemic.

It's believed to be the first time there has been a significant divergence approaches to flu vaccination. Senior advisers said they were 'surprised' by NHS England's decision to scrap jabs for the two age groups and were not consulted.

Professor Adam Finn, a paediatric vaccine expert and member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the Government on vaccines, told The Mail on Sunday: 'It's rare for there to be differing vaccination positions across the union, and in this case it appears as though these are Government-led financial decisions because we haven't been asked to advise.'

Meanwhile, Nick Kaye, the National Pharmacy Association's vice-chairman, has branded England's policy reversal as short-sighted.

He added: 'No one can say for certain that we'll be through the Covid pandemic by winter.'

Studies suggest that people who catch Covid and flu at the same time are twice as likely to die. However, since most Britons have received at least three Covid vaccines, the Department of Health and Social Care made the decision to scrap free jabs in England. Those not eligible will now have to pay for one, at a cost of about £15 from high street pharmacies.

Wales announced in April that it would still offer the vaccine to over-50s and teenagers, costing its Government £7.85 million.

The nation's Health and Social Services Minister, Eluned Morgan, said: 'Covid has not gone away. Ensuring as many people are protected from the flu will not only help individuals and their communities but also protect our NHS.'

Now The Mail on Sunday can confirm Scotland has also decided to continue with the seasonal flu vaccination programme.