RSV vaccine: over 80s can finally get their free jab
At last – people over 80 are eligible for the RSV vaccine after a government change of heart.
At last – people over 80 are eligible for the RSV vaccine after a government change of heart.
Three million people aged 80 and above will now be able to get the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine for the first time, after the Department of Health and Social Care finally changed its mind this week.
All older people living in care homes will also become eligible for RSV jabs when the spring vaccination campaign kicks off on 1 April in England. Details of the expansion roll-out in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are expected to be announced very soon.
There will be no upper age limit – so no one will be judged too old to benefit, and the shots can be given at the same time as the Covid vaccine at GP surgeries.
The decision comes after months of outrage – including from Saga Magazine readers – that over 80s were excluded from the initial rollout of the vaccine in autumn 2024. The new decision will potentially save thousands of lives.
RSV is a major respiratory virus that is common over the winter, typically between November and February. Although in most cases RSV causes no more than a cold, sore throat or cough, in the vulnerable it can cause severe lung infections and can lead to life-threatening pneumonia. It results in 9,000 hospital admissions and 4,000 deaths each winter to over 75 year olds.
Since the introduction of the RSV vaccination programme in September 2024 1.3 million doses have been given to those aged 75-79. Those aged 80 and above have missed out on protection for two winters and some may have died as a result.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), an expert scientific advisory committee, did not initially recommend it for those in their 80s because of a lack of evidence on effectiveness in that age group, and low numbers of over 80s in the drug trials. However, the committee agreed to review new evidence.
Saga Magazine has been highlighting the unfairness of denying the RSV vaccine to those over 80 for the past 18 months. We had dozens of letters and emails from readers questioning why those most vulnerable to the infection were being excluded.
Last September, we followed up by reporting on the publication of new research showing the vaccine was indeed effective in the over 80s. A study amongst US Veterans (including the over 80s) published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found the vaccine reduced RSV associated hospitalisations by 80.3% and was 78.1% effective against documented RSV infection.
Another study published in April 2025 in The Lancet, which measured the impact of the new RSV vaccination programme, revealed that predicted RSV-associated hospital admissions in those aged 75 to 79 showed a 30% reduction (this was with vaccine coverage rate of 41.8%).
Dr Hamid Merchant, head of department for Bioscience at the University of East London, and editor of the British Journal of Pharmacy, predicted the same sort of reductions could be anticipated in the over 80s if they were given the RSV vaccine and said there was no reason to delay now the data was available.
He said there were ethical implications for not offering protection to those who were most vulnerable to adverse outcomes from the RSV.
“Offering vaccines to under 80s for free on the NHS and asking over 80s to wait or have it privately at significant costs is against the ethos of NHS,’ Dr Merchant said.
Professor Jugdeep Dhesi, president of the British Geriatrics Society, welcomed the government’s change of heart. “We must do everything we can to prevent illness in older people, and the BGS believes vaccination is key part of this,” she said. “We’d also like to express our gratitude to Saga Magazine for highlighting this important issue through their campaign.
“We know from the Chief Medical Officer’s 2025 report on infections that older people living with long-term conditions such as frailty or dementia are more likely to contract infections and suffer the most serious outcomes. This in turn may result in long hospital stays, which can contribute to further health problems.”
Eighty-one-year-old Len Parsons, a retired telecoms manager, who lives in Rayleigh, Essex, with his wife Christine 82, wrote to Saga and to his MP to express his anger over the original decision and was delighted to hear about the DHSC’s change of heart this week.
“This is great news – I’m glad the DHSC has finally seen sense and acted on the latest scientific evidence,” says Len. “It sounds like someone has listened after all. It was absolutely stupid that the most vulnerable people were left unprotected.
“I’m breathing a big sigh of relief that we’ll now get the protection we deserve, and I will be ringing my GP surgery to find out more. We were so worried about not being protected we had looked into getting the injection privately but were told it would cost us £245 each which didn’t seem fair when we paid into the system all our lives.
“Christine and I will be first in the queue for the jab when it’s available. It’s just a shame they couldn’t have offered these to us last winter and during this current winter – I wonder how many people may have died as a result of the delay.”
The JCVI considered real world evidence on the effectiveness of the vaccine in those aged 80 plus, as well as in the current eligible 75 to 79 age group. They also looked at the impact on hospitalisation rates and a cost effectiveness review conducted by the DHSC and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
The cost effectiveness review found that vaccinating the over 80s was potentially more cost effective than for the 75 to 79 age group because the impact and burden of RSV increases with older age.
The committee also reviewed evidence that showed it was safe to give the RSV vaccine at the same time as a Covid vaccine and didn’t affect effectiveness.
After reviewing the evidence, the JCVI recommended an extension of the RSV vaccination campaign to cover those aged 80 and above and all older people living in care homes in all four UK nations.
Dr Conall Watson, consultant epidemiologist at UKHSA, says RSV lung infection is less well known than COVID or flu, but for older adults it puts thousands in hospital each year with a risk to life. “This extension of the RSV vaccination programme to everyone over 80 or living in a care home for older adults means many more will soon be able to get protected,” he explains. “This follows advice from JCVI based on new evidence showing the clear benefit of vaccination for these groups.
“Analysis has shown those aged 75 to 79 already getting the vaccine are much less likely to be hospitalised. When you are offered the vaccine, don’t hesitate.” Uptake for the current RSV vaccination programme in England for those aged 75 to 79 achieved a cumulative coverage rate of 61.7% according to UKHSA figures published in October 2025, a rise from 22.6% in September 2024.
(Hero image credit: Getty)
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