All children’s flu vaccines for 2024/25 now available to order on ImmForm

***All vaccines supplied by UKHSA for the 2024/25 children’s flu programme are now available to order on ImmForm***

Summary:

• Both LAIV (Fluenz®) and QIVc are now available to order in England via ImmForm.
• LAIV is now a trivalent vaccine with the brand name Fluenz^®.
• As in previous years, order controls and allocations are in place for UKHSA supplied children’s flu vaccines.
• All information on the availability and allocation of vaccines for the children’s flu programme provided in this update remains subject to change at all times. The ImmForm news page will always have the most accurate and up to date information.
• UKHSA does not supply any flu vaccines for patients aged 18 years and over.
• Please refer to guidance from your respective health departments for arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Important update regarding the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV)

From 2024 LAIV will be a trivalent vaccine (rather than a quadrivalent) due to the removal of the B-Yamagata strain. This change in formulation by AstraZeneca was recommended by the World Health Organisation and is supported by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. The brand name for the trivalent vaccine is Fluenz^® (the quadrivalent vaccine was named Fluenz^® Tetra).

Presentation of the vaccine (i.e. pre-filled single dose nasal spray, supplied in a ten dose pack) remains the same, and LAIV is available to order via ImmForm for providers of the children’s flu programme as usual.

Link to SmPC

Vaccines and availability

Please note that all information on the availability and allocation of vaccines for the children’s flu programme shown below remains subject to change at any time.

The latest and most accurate informationon the availability of centrally supplied vaccines for the children’s flu programme is always available on the ImmForm news page and it is strongly advised that all parties involved in the provision of influenza vaccines to children ensure that they remain up to date with this information.

The 2 vaccines that are available and the groups that these vaccines should be ordered for are set out in the table below.

*unless LAIV clinically contraindicated or otherwise unsuitable

** Children from 2 years of age to school year 11, and children in clinical risk groups aged 2 to <18 years.

Editing Fluenz^® (LAIV) orders

Due to the anticipated large volume of orders for Fluenz^® in the first few weeks of ordering, orders for this product will be assembled as soon as they are placed and will not be editable. If you need to make an adjustment to your order after it has been placed, you will need to contact helpdesk@immform.org.uk for assistance.

LAIV ordering information for General Practice

Ordering controls are in place for general practices, to enable UKHSA to balance supply with demand. These controls work by allocating an amount of LAIV based on the number of registered eligible patients and are tailored to each practice. GPs are able to place one order and receive one delivery of LAIV per week.

At this time:

• Each GP practice hasbeen allocated sufficient LAIV to vaccinate at least 45% of their eligible patients (all 2 and 3 year olds, plus children in clinical risk groups from age 4 to <18 years).
• Increases to these allocations will be made in response to demand and vaccine availability.
• Requests for extra vaccine will be considered on a case-by-case basis throughout the ordering period. Requests for additional vaccine should be sent to the helpdesk (helpdesk@immform.org.uk) and should be sent in good time before your order cut-off. Out of schedule deliveries will be by exception only.

You can view how many packs of LAIV your practice has available to order by clicking on the following link to the allocation report (you will be asked to log in with your ImmForm credentials). You will then need to select:

1. Stock management reports; followed by
2. Products available to order (Allocation managed) report.

Please note that this report is not updated in real-time and so may not account for any orders or allocation amendments made within the last 30-45 minutes.

Multi-Branch Practices and LAIV allocations

Please note that GP practices or groups that operate over multiple sites but are part of the same organisation will have a joint allocation (as in previous years), even where each site has a unique ImmForm account. This means that it is possible for one site to potentially order all of the available vaccine for the group, unless there is local agreement on how the allocated volume is shared. UKHSA recommend that this agreement is in place before ordering commences to reduce the risk of supply interruption. The information above allows practices to estimate the amount of vaccine they will be initially allocated, and how it should be split between all sites.

LAIV ordering information for school-age providers

School providers are able to place 2 orders and receive 2 deliveries of LAIV per week, to assist in the management of vaccine volumes required across limited storage space at delivery points.

This operates on a 48-hour delivery schedule requiring the order to be placed before the 11.55am cut off 2 working days before the required delivery day.  The table below illustrates the respective delivery days versus ordering days.

Customers must ensure that the point of delivery will be open and staffed between 9am and 5pm on the delivery day when placing orders. 

Please note that this 48-hour delivery schedule does not affect the routine ordering and delivery schedule of any other vaccines (including inactivated flu vaccines) ordered from ImmForm and is applicable to Fluenz^® (LAIV) only.

A default weekly ordering cap of 450 packs (4,500 doses) per week will be in place for school provider accounts.

Where this cap is insufficient and a provider needs a larger weekly volume of vaccine to deliver the programme (for example where a provider covers a large area using a single account), a higher weekly cap should be requested via the UKHSA Flu Vaccine Operations team by emailing childfluvaccine@ukhsa.gov.uk referencing the relevant ImmForm account number or Org code.   Any requests should be made in good time before orders will be placed.

For one-off larger orders during the ordering period, requests should be made via helpdesk@immform.org.uk.

Inactivated flu vaccine ordering

The Cell Based Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine (Surface Antigen, Inactivated) (QIVc) is available to order, in a single dose pack, for:

• Children in clinical risk groups aged from six months to less than 2 years old;
• Children aged from 2 to <18 years old in clinical risk groups for whom LAIV is clinically contraindicated or otherwise unsuitable; and
• Healthy children from 2 years old to those in school year 11, for whom LAIV is unsuitable (for example, due to objection to LAIV on the grounds of its porcine gelatine content)

Order controls are in place for this vaccine as follows:

• For GPs, there is a cap of 10 doses/packs per week.
• For school-age providers, there is a cap of 450 doses/packs per week.

Kind regards

LONDON REGION IMMUNISATION TEAM

RA