Winter vaccines 2025/26 

Flu and covid-19 vaccines will be offered to those eligible from 15th September onwards. It’s strongly recommended you get vaccinated if you’re eligible this winter.  

The joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) advice is to offer the vaccines to those at high risk of serious illness from flu or COVID-19 and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination. 

All those eligible will be invited for vaccination. NHS Scotland will contact you with more information if you’re eligible for the COVID-19 and/or flu vaccines.  

Please wait to be contacted about your vaccination. Do not try to make an appointment until you’ve been invited by NHS Scotland. If you believe you are eligible and have not been contacted about vaccination by the beginning of November 2025 please contact us. 

If you previously chose to be contacted digitally, you’ll receive a text or email with an appointment or prompt. Otherwise, you’ll receive a letter. The letter invites will arrive in the post in white envelopes with clear NHS Scotland branding. 

You may receive your invitation at a different time than previous years. You should attend the appointment you’ve been given or rearrange your appointment. 

Who can get the winter vaccines? 

You’ll be offered the separate flu and COVID-19 vaccines this winter if you: 

• Are adults aged 75 years and over (age on 31/03/2026) 

• live in a care home for older adults 

• are aged 6 months or over and have a weakened immune system (as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book) 

Read more winter vaccines Winter vaccines | NHS inform) and COVID-19 vaccine information The coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine | NHS inform 

You’ll be offered the flu vaccine only if you’re: 

• Aged 6 months – 2 years with an eligible health condition 

• 2 – 5 years (age on 01/09/2025) 

• Primary school aged 

• Secondary school aged 

• aged 65 – 74 years (age on 31/03/2026) 

• aged 18 to 64 with an eligible health condition 

• pregnant 

• working in a care home for older adults 

• living with someone who has a weakened immune system 

• an unpaid or young carer 

• a frontline health or social care worker 

• a non-frontline NHS worker 

• a poultry worker or bird handler 

• an asylum seeker living in a home office hotel or B&B accommodation 

• experiencing homelessness or substance misuse 

• living in a Scottish prison 

 

For further information about the flu vaccination, please visit: 

www.nhsinform.scot/flu  

Attending your appointment  

Please arrive for your appointment on time. If you arrive early, you will be asked to wait until your allocated appointment time.  

If your appointment time is not suitable or you wish to attend at the same time as a family member, please rearrange your appointment. 

If you hold Power of Attorney (POA) for an adult without capacity, please bring the POA documentation to vaccination appointments. Without this we may not be able to vaccinate due to lack of valid consent. 

Drop in Clinics 

We will be offering some drop-in clinics for those eligible for vaccines from the middle of December 2025 – no appointment needed. Information will be shared here at the start of December.  

Programme Timing 

COVID-19 vaccinations will be offered to those who are eligible until 31st January 2026. 

Flu vaccinations will be offered to those who are eligible until 31st March 2026. 

Help by phone or email 

Use these contacts for questions about vaccination clinics, including if you: 

• have been asked to book an appointment  

• need to rearrange an appointment  

• need to cancel an appointment (please let us know so we can offer a place to someone else) 

Phone or email our local vaccination enquiries helpline 

phone 01224 555333 

• Monday to Friday 08:30 – 16:40 

email gram.vaccineenquiries@nhs.scot 

Phone the National Vaccination Helpline 

phone 0800 030 8013 

• Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm 

• Saturday, 9:00am to 1:00pm 

 

How to book or reschedule my appointment 

If you need to book or reschedule an appointment, you can do this by using the portal or by telephoning the national contact centre on 0800 030 8013. 

Step-by-step video guides are available to help with booking and rescheduling appointments, as well as updating your communications preference and retrieving your booking information. 

For further information, please visit NHS Inform. Information is also available in other languages and formats 

Please note that it is not possible to use the online booking portal for any children under the age of 11. To reschedule this age group, please contact the local NHS Grampian call centre on 01224 555 333. 

Rolling offer: If you’re aged 5 to 64 with no eligible condition/circumstance, you’ll no longer be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, unless you later enter an eligible group in future programmes, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).