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Chamber and committees

Question reference: S6W-28355

  • Asked by: Jackie Dunbar, MSP for Aberdeen Donside, Scottish National Party
  • Date lodged: 25 June 2024
  • Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 July 2024

Question

To ask the Scottish Government how the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine programme will engage with the seasonal flu vaccine programme.


Answer

The RSV programme for older adults will run from 12 August to the end of September. The childhood flu programme will launch from early September. We are currently working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) and Health Boards to confirm a start date for the adult flu programme, which the JCVI has advised should start in early October.

Although the RSV and flu programmes may overlap in September, there are no plans to co-administer the RSV vaccine alongside the flu vaccine this winter. This is because current data suggests that administering them together has the potential to blunt the RSV vaccine's effectiveness. For those who are eligible for both RSV and flu, they will therefore have two separate appointments.

If the JCVI announces a COVID-19 winter programme, it is likely we would co-administer the COVID-19 vaccine with flu, as has been done in previous winters, for maximum convenience for the patient.