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Publication, Part of

Childhood Vaccination Coverage Statistics- England, 2021-22

National statistics

Publication Date:
29 Sep 2022
Geographic Coverage:
United Kingdom
Geographical Granularity:
Country, Regions, Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Organisations
Date Range:
01 Apr 2021 to 31 Mar 2022
National Statistics

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Coverage Statistics 2021-22

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Coverage Statistics 2021-22

'6-in-1’ vaccine and '5-in-1' vaccine

Schedule for 6-in-1(DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB)

Vaccine protects against:

6-in-1 (post-August 2017): diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b, hepatitis B, 

5-in-1 (pre-August 2017): diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, disease caused by Haemophilus influenzae type b

Primary course scheduled at ages:

8, 12 and 16 weeks

Coverage measured at ages:

12 months, 24 months, 5 years

Schedule and cohort information

For all babies born on or after 1 August 2017, the pentavalent (5-in-1) vaccine was replaced with a hexavalent (6-in1) vaccine, which additionally protects against hepatitis B4.

  • 2019-20 onwards: Vaccinated children in the 12 month cohort will have received the 6-in-1 vaccination.
  • 2018-19: Vaccinated children received either the 5-in-1 or the 6-in-1 vaccination, depending on when they were vaccinated.
  • 2017-18 and earlier: Vaccinated children received the 5-in-1 vaccination

National coverage at 12 months (6-in-1)

  •  In 2021-22, 91.8% of children were reported to have completed their primary course of 3 doses at 12 months.
  •  This is a decrease from 2020-21, when coverage was 92.0% and continues a downward trend observed since the peak of 94.7% reported in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

 

Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Tables 1 and 6

‘6-in-1’ vaccine – Regional coverage – 12 months

DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB

Regional coverage at 12 months

  • In 2021-22, 8 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. 1 region (North East) exceeded the national target of 95%.
  • Coverage in England remains below the 95% target in 2021-22.
  • London had the lowest coverage (86.5%) and was 9.1 percentage points lower than the North East which had the highest coverage (95.6%)
Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Table 8a.

Upper tier local authority (LA) coverage at 12 months

  • 33 LAs (out of 149) have coverage levels of 95% and above.
  • 36 LAs reported coverage of less than 90%. 25 of these LAs were in London.
Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Table 8b.

‘6-in-1’ vaccine – 24 months

DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB

National coverage at 24 months

  •     In 2021-22, coverage for the 6-in-1 vaccine at 24 months was 93.0%. It remains below the 95% national target and lower than the 5-in-1  vaccine last measured at 24 months in 2019-20 at 93.8%  (see Data Table 2).
  •     Coverage is lower than the previous year, when it was 93.8% and continues a downward trend observed since the peak at 96.3% in 2012-13 and has remained below the 95% target since 2018-19.
Source: COVER – UKHSA

Regional coverage for 6-in-1 at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 8 out of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. 2 regions met the national target of 95%.
  • London has the lowest regional coverage. None of the London LAs met the 95% target (see Data Table 9b for LA level data).
Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Tables 4 and 9a (LA level data available in Table 9b). Due to rounding, some figures may appear as 95.0% but the unrounded figure may be slightly below that value. See data tables for unrounded values. Interactive dashboard also available

‘5-in-1’ vaccine - DTaP/IPV/Hib

National coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, coverage for the 5-in-1 vaccine at 5 years was 94.4%, lower than the 95.2% coverage reported in 2020-21.
  • This is the first time since 2010-11 that the 95% target for children aged 5 years has not been met.
Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Table 3

Regional coverage for 5-in-1 at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, coverage was above 90% in all regions.
  • 6 of 9 regions met or exceeded the national target of 95%.
  • London had the lowest coverage (90.0%), which was 6.6 percentage points lower than the North East who had the highest coverage (96.6%).
Source: COVER – UKHSA. See Data Table 10a (LA level data available in Table 10b). Interactive dashboard available here: http://bit.ly/child_vacc_stats_annual

‘5-in-1’ (DTaP/IPV/Hib) vaccine - Cohort tracking

This page presents coverage for a single cohort of children, to show the changes in coverage as they age.

A ‘cohort’ refers to a group of children all born in the same year.         

Coverage = number vaccinated / eligible population.

Key message

  • Coverage for this cohort has increased over time.
  • The 95% WHO target was not met when coverage was assessed at ages 12 months, 24 months and 5 years.
Additional information
     • Children are scheduled to receive the vaccine at 8, 12 and 16 weeks, but can still be vaccinated over this age and remain eligible until they have completed the 3 dose course.
     • Coverage is assessed at the 3 age milestones to monitor change over time, accounting for later vaccinations.
     • The composition of an age cohort may change over time; the eligible population (denominator) may change and this will affect coverage rates. (i.e. migration in/out of England).
     • Some children receive the vaccine later than scheduled. Therefore, vaccine coverage for any given cohort tends to increase over time.

Pre-school booster - DTaP/IPV

National and regional coverage

Children should receive their DTaP/IPV pre-school booster from 3 years and 4 months or soon thereafter. (This vaccine is given to children who have received a 3 dose course of the 5-in-1 vaccination).

National coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, coverage was 84.2%. This represents a decrease from 2020-21, when coverage was 85.3%
  • Coverage was highest in 2012-13, at 88.9%.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 3.

Regional coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, 1 region (North East) achieved coverage above 90%; none achieved the 95% target.
  • Coverage was 18.7 percentage points lower in London (the region with lowest coverage at 71.8%) compared to the North East, the region with the highest coverage at 90.6%.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 10a (LA level data available in Table 10b).

MMR vaccine

Vaccine protects against:

Measles, mumps, rubella

Doses scheduled at ages:

Dose 1 (MMR1) 12 months, Dose 2 (MMR2) 3 years 4 months

Coverage measured at ages:

24 months (for MMR1), 5 years (for MMR1 and MMR2)

National coverage of MMR1 at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 89.2% of children completed their 1st dose of the MMR vaccine. This compares with 90.3% in 2020-21and is the first time coverage has fallen below 90% since 2010-11.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Tables 2 and 7
Chart interpretation notes
  • A During the 1990s and early 2000s coverage was impacted by a since discredited potential link between the MMR vaccine and autism and Crohn’s disease.
  • B Subsequent recovery of coverage rates mean MMR1 coverage at 24 months remained above 90% for the 10 years to 2020-2021, although it has fallen below 90% in the current year. This recovery may be a result of national campaigns, a recommendation by the JCVI to offer the Hib/MenC and PCV booster vaccines and the first dose of MMR vaccine at the same visit, as well as local initiatives to improve coverage.                            

MMR1 vaccine - Regional coverage

MMR1 coverage at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 7 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. no region met the national target of 95%.
  • Coverage in England remained below the 95% target in 2021-22.
  • London had the lowest coverage (79.9%) and was 14.6 percentage points lower than the North East with the highest coverage (94.5%).
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Tables 4 and 9a

MMR1 vaccine – Local Authority coverage (24 months)

 

Upper tier local authority (LA) coverage at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 16 LAs (out of 149) had coverage levels of 95% and above.
  • Coverage of less than 90% was reported for 61 LAs, including all 32 London LAs.

 

Statistics are presented for 149 LAs. The eligible populations for Isles of Scilly, City of London, and Rutland LAs are very small and are therefore reported under Cornwall, Hackney and Leicestershire respectively. Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 9b.

MMR1 vaccine at 5 years – National and regional coverage

National MMR1 coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, coverage was 93.4%, this represents a decrease from 2020-21, when coverage was 94.3%.
  • The 95% target was reached for the first and only time in 2016-17
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 3

Regional MMR1 coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, 2 out of 9 regions met the target of 95%.
  • Coverage in London is below 90%.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 10a (LA level data available in Table 10b)

MMR2 vaccine (second dose)

National MMR2 coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, 85.7% of children received their 2nd dose of MMR vaccine (MMR2) by their 5th birthday, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from 86.6% in the previous year.
  • MMR1 (1st dose only) at 5 years shown in chart for comparison. 
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 3.

Regional MMR2 coverage at 5 years

  • In 2021-22, coverage is at or above 90% in 2 regions. No regions reached the 95% target.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 10a (LA level data available in Table 10b).

Rotavirus vaccine

Vaccine protects against:

Rotavirus

Vaccine scheduled at age:

12 weeks

Coverage measured at age:

12 months

Note:

Unlike other vaccines offered in the primary schedule, opportunities for children to catch up missed doses are limited as it cannot be given beyond 6 months of age and so coverage at 12 months is likely to be lower than other vaccines offered at the same time.

National and regional coverage at 12 months

In 2021-22, 89.9% of children in England were reported to have received 2 doses of the rotavirus vaccine as measured at 12 months, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points from 90.2% in 2020-21

  • Coverage in 6 regions was above 90%. No regions achieved 95% coverage.
  • Coverage was 10.0 percentage points lower in London (the region with lowest coverage at 84.3%) compared to the North East, the region with the highest coverage (94.3%)
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 8a.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV)

Vaccine protects against:

Pneumococcal disease

Vaccine scheduled at ages:

Primary course 12 weeks,  Booster dose  12 months

Coverage measured at ages:

12 months (primary course),  24 months (booster)

National coverage at 12 months (PCV primary course):

  • PCV data for the 12-month cohort was not available for 2020-21. This is due to the change in the vaccine schedule and how the vaccine is recorded. See Appendix L for details.
  • Coverage was 93.8% in 2021-22. This compares to 93.2% in 2019-20 when a two dose schedule was offered suggesting improved coverage with a single dose.

 National coverage at 24 months (PCV booster):

  • In 2021-22, 89.3% of children had completed a booster course of PCV, a decrease from 90.1% the previous year and a continuation of the downward trend reported since the peak of 92.5% in 2012-13.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Tables 1 and 2.

PCV vaccine - Regional coverage

Regional coverage at 24 months (booster)

  • In 2021-22, 7 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. No region exceeded the national target of 95%.
  • Coverage in England was below the 95% target in 2021-22, 2020-21 and 2019-20.
  • London had consistently lower coverage in those three years and in 2021-22, at 80.9%, was 13.3 percentage points lower than the North East with the highest coverage (94.3%)
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 9a.

Hib/MenC vaccine

Vaccine protects against:

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), meningococcal disease group C (MenC)

Combined vaccine scheduled at ages:

12 months

Coverage measured at ages:

24 months and five years

Note:

The Hib/Men C is a combined vaccine. It is a booster for Hib (also offered in the first year of life as part of the DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB primary course) and the primary dose for MenC.

National coverage at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 89.0% of children in England were reported to have received the combined Hib/MenC vaccine.
  • This is a decrease of 1.2% percentage points from the 2020-21 value of 90.2% and a continuation of the downward trend observed since the peak at 92.7% in 2012-13.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 2. Hib/MenC data for the 24-month cohort is unavailable for Southampton LA. National figures for Hib/MenC exclude Southampton form the numerator and denominator.

Hib/MenC vaccine - Regional coverage

Regional coverage at 24 months

  • In 2021-22, 7 out of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. No region reached the national target of 95%.
  • Coverage in England was also below the 95% target in 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 at 90.5%, 90.2% and 89% respectively.
  • In 2021-22, coverage was lowest at 79.8% in London, 14.6 percentage points lower than the North East which had the highest coverage (94.4%).
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 9a. Hib/MenC data for the 24 month cohort is unavailable for Southampton LA. National and South East region figures for Hib/MenC exclude Southampton form the numerator and denominator.

Regional coverage at 5 years - Hib/MenC

  • In 2021-22, 8 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage. No region reached or exceeded 95%.
  • Coverage in England in 2021-22 was 91.7%, below the 95% target and below the coverage achieved in 2020-21.
  • In 2021-22, coverage was lowest at 85.6% in London and was 9.0 percentage points lower than the North East, where coverage was highest (94.6%).
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 10a

MenB vaccine and booster

Vaccine protects against:

Meningococcal disease (group b)

Combined vaccine scheduled at ages:

Primary course 8 weeks (from 2020-21 onwards; previously primary courses at 8 and 16 weeks) Booster 12 months

Coverage measured at ages:

12 months and 24 months

Note:

Children are not eligible for the MenB booster after their 2nd birthday.

The MenB vaccine was introduced from 1 September 2015 alongside other routine vaccinations.

National and Regional coverage at 12 months

  • In 2021-22, 91.5% of children in England received 2 doses of the Men B vaccine, a decrease of 0.6% from 92.1% in 2020-21.
  • In 2020-21, 8 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage, 1 region (North East) exceeded the 95% national target.
  • London had the lowest coverage at 86.0%, 9.4 percentage points lower than the North East at 95.4%.
Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 8a.

MenB booster vaccine – 24 months - National and regional coverage

Vaccine summary:

  • In 2021-22, coverage was 88.0%, this represents a decrease of 1.0% from 2020-21, when coverage was 89.0%
  • 6 of 9 regions reached 90% coverage, while no regions achieved 95% coverage.
  • London had the lowest coverage (78.0%) and was 15.7 percentage points lower than the North East with the highest coverage (93.7%).
Note:

MenB booster vaccine (24 months) data was reported as a National Statistic for the first time in 2018-19.

For more information on the MenB programme, see Appendix F

National and Regional coverage at 24 months

Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Table 9a.

Coverage in UK countries – 2021-22

The table below displays the annual 2021-22 coverage values for the 4 UK countries. UK time series data (from 2009-10 to 2021-22) can be accessed in the interactive dashboard: http://bit.ly/child_vacc_stats_annual 
Quarterly UK and country level vaccine coverage statistics are published in the quarterly COVER Health Protection Report by UKHSA5.   

 

    United Kingdom England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland
Coverage at 12 months (%) DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB 92.3 91.8 95.2 96.3 93.5
PCV  94.1 93.8 96.6 96.4 95.2
Rota 90.4 89.9 93.2 94.0 91.1
MenB 92.0 91.5 94.8 95.6 93.6
Coverage at 24 months (%) DTaP/IPV/Hib/HepB 93.5 93.0 96.3 97.1 95.3
MMR1 89.8 89.2 94.2 94.4 91.8
Hib/MenC booster 89.7 89.0 93.7 94.3 91.8
PCV booster 90.0 89.3 94.1 94.3 92.0
MenB Booster 88.7 88.0 93.8 93.9 90.9
Coverage at 5 years (%) DTaP/IPV/Hib Primary  94.8 94.4 96.4 97.4 96.7
Dtap/IPV booster 85.3 84.2 91.2 92.7 89.7
MMR1 first dose 93.8 93.4 95.9 96.0 95.4
MMR2 first and second dose 86.5 85.7 90.6 92.2 89.4
Hib/MenC booster 92.2 91.7 94.7 95.6 95.0

Source: COVER – UKHSA, NHS Digital. See Data Tables 5a, 5b and 5c.

Values highlighted in bold represent those at or above the 95% target. (If a number rounds up to 95.0%, but the true figure is below 95.0%, the number is not in bold)

Links to vaccine statistics publications for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can be found in the Quality Statement (Coherence and Comparability section).

 

5. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cover-of-vaccination-evaluated-rapidly-cover-programme-2021-to-2022-quarterly-data

Selective neonatal vaccination programmes

In addition to the routine vaccines listed in this report, there are 2 selective neonatal vaccination programmes.

Vaccine Age Notes
Hepatitis B Birth to 12 months Given to ‘at risk’ infants*/6 doses (combination of 3 monovalent and 3 hexavalent vaccines)
Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG)** Birth onwards Given to ‘at risk’ infants***/1 dose

*  ‘At Risk’ infants: born to mothers who are chronically infected with Hepatitis B  (HBV) or to mothers who have had acute hepatitis B during pregnancy. Full details here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hexavalent-combination-vaccine-programme-guidance

** Data for BCG collected through COVER were included for the first time in 2016-17

*** At risk infants:

 1. All infants (aged 0 to 12 months) with a parent or grandparent who was born in a country where the annual incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) is 40/100,000 or greater.
 2. All infants (aged 0 to 12 months) living in areas of the UK where the annual incidence of TB is 40/100,000 or greater

Due to known data quality issues there are no regional or national data published for BCG or Hepatitis B within the data tables and both are designated as official statistics, rather than National Statistics.

Despite the data quality issues, it remains important to make the data available for the following reasons;

  • they are acknowledged as the best that they can be given the issues involved
  • to maintain public awareness
  • justification of respondent/collection burden.
  • identification of trends at local level within an active programme so that action can be taken to improve uptake where needed

BCG data can be found in Table 11a of the accompanying data tables. Coverage and eligible population data are only published for LAs running a universal vaccination programme.

HepB data can be found in Tables 11b and 11c for children aged 12 months and 24 months old respectively.

More information on BCG can be found in the Tuberculosis report published by UKHSA  

Appendix E of the accompanying Appendices document has more information.

Childhood Influenza (seasonal flu)

Vaccine protects against:

Seasonal influenza 

Vaccine scheduled at ages:

Annual vaccination, given between 1 September 2021 and 31 March 2022

Coverage measured at ages:

2 years and 3 years

Note:

In 2021-22, seasonal influenza coverage data was collected for the period 1 September 2021 to 28 February 2022.

The data provided is classed as official statistics.

Influenza vaccine

  • During the 2021-22 winter season (1 September 2021 to 31 March 2022), all GP practices in England were asked to offer the influenza (seasonal flu) vaccine to all registered children aged 2 and 3 years.
  • School age children aged 4 to 11 years are also vaccinated, but this data is not presented in this report6.
  • Age is defined as age on 31 August 2021
  • Data is collected for the period 1 September 2021 to 28 February 2022.
  • Regional data for 2 and 3 year olds is presented on the next page.
  • For further information, see the UKHSA report, which contains additional information, such as a coverage broken-down by children ‘in a clinical risk group’ and ‘not in a clinical risk group’
  • https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures
  • Information on recommended components of vaccine: https://www.who.int/teams/global-influenza-programme/vaccines/who-recommendations

 

6.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seasonal-influenza-vaccine-uptake-in-gp-patients-winter-season-2021-to-2022

Childhood Influenza (seasonal flu)

During the 2021-22 winter season (1 September 2021 to 31 March 2022), all GP practices in England were asked to offer the influenza (seasonal flu) vaccine to all registered children aged 2 or 3 years. Coverage data shown was collected for the period 1 September 2021 to 28 February 2022.

Percentage of children vaccinated at 2 and 3 years of age

  • In 2021-22, influenza vaccination coverage was 50.1% for the combined 2 and 3 years age group.
  • This is a decrease of 6.6 percentage points from 2020-21, when coverage for the combined 2 and 3 year age group was 56.7%
  • However this is 6.3% higher than 2019-20, where the figure was 43.8%
Source: ImmForm website – Registered Patient GP practice data, UKHSA. See Data Tables 12a, 12b ,12c, 13a, 13b, 13c for regional, LA and STP data.

Note: Data is final end of season and represents 97.1% of all GP practices in England responding to the February 2022 Child GP Flu Survey (green) compared with 97.2% of practices in the same survey month in 2020-21. For further info. see Appendix B
Read the UKHSA report. 

Last edited: 13 June 2023 4:22 pm

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