Pneumococcal vaccine coverage
PHS vaccination surveillance dashboard

About this release

This annual release by Public Health Scotland (PHS), complementing data on the PHS Vaccination Surveillance dashboard, provides the most up to date information on coverage of pneumococcal vaccination. The pneumococcal vaccine provides protection against pneumococcal infections which may result in life-threatening invasive disease such as pneumonia, meningitis, and septicaemia. Coverage is the proportion of eligible individuals who are fully vaccinated, regardless of when they received the vaccine.

Main points

• As of 31 March 2026, coverage of the pneumococcal vaccine among the eligible population (age 65+ and 2 to 64 at-risk) in Scotland was 73.1%, an increase of 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous year where coverage was 71.2%.
• Specifically, among those aged 65 years and older, coverage was 79.5%, increasing from 77.4% as of 31 March 2025. For those aged 2 to 64-years-old and who are at higher risk of developing complications from a pneumococcal infection, coverage was 56.8%, increasing from 55.5% as of 31 March 2025.
• Coverage in the total eligible population (age 65+ and 2 to 64 at-risk) varied among NHS health boards, with NHS Grampian showing the highest coverage (79.1%) and NHS Ayrshire and Arran showing the lowest (65.7%).
• Coverage in the total eligible population (age 65+ and 2 to 64 at-risk) was lower among those living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas (64.3% vs. 80.3%), a difference of 16.0 percentage points.
• Coverage in the total eligible population (age 65+ and 2 to 64 at-risk) varied by urban rural locality, with accessible rural reporting highest coverage and very remote small towns the lowest coverage (75.4% vs. 65.9%, respectively).

Background

The pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for all people aged 65 years and over, and people aged 2 to 64 years old who are at higher risk of developing complications from a pneumococcal infection. A full list of those eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine is available on NHS inform. There is also a routine infant programme for babies from age 12 weeks. Further information on this programme is available in the Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland quarterly reports.

Further information

Pneumococcal vaccine coverage data are available on the Public Health Scotland - Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard.

The next release of this publication will be Q2 2027 (April to June 2027).