To ask the Minister of Health for his assessment of the impact of excluding people younger than 65 years old from the commencement of the flu vaccination programme eligible cohort.

Eligible cohorts for the autumn and winter 2025 influenza vaccination programme in Northern Ireland are based on advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Based on this advice, the following cohorts are eligible for the current Northern Ireland influenza vaccination programme:

all those aged 65 years and over on 31 March 2026,

all those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups,

those in long-stay residential care homes,

pregnant women,

all preschool children aged two to four years on 1 September 2025,

all school-aged children (up to and including year 12),

all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years,

carers,

close contacts of immunocompromised individuals,

high risk poultry and avian animal health workers, and

all health and social care workers

The JCVI keeps its advice on seasonal flu vaccination programmes under regular review and publishes this on an annual basis.

Should their advice relating to eligible cohorts for future programmes change, my Department will consider their updated recommendations at that time.