To support this winter vaccine programme, there are many different national teams working behind the scenes to provide information, resources, and support to help health boards deliver a safe and effective programme.

These include:

• information systems which provide health boards with the details of those who are eligible for vaccines each year
• using JCVI advice and health records
• the national scheduling system which sends out letters, emails or texts (based on customer communication preference) to those eligible people

Ensuring safe and reliable supplies of the different vaccines is also key with a network of supply routes and vaccine holding centres across the whole of Scotland.

The National Contact Centre continues to provide telephone support (through the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013) to those who may need help to book appointments or more specific information.

Public Health Scotland provides and regularly updates call handler guidance in the form of a question-and-answer document.

Uptake data, including that for key groups and different locations is recorded throughout the winter programme. This allows uptake rates to be monitored and any issues identified at an early stage.

Evaluation of this data and the vaccination experience for many groups in recent years is used to drive improvements to the programme. This supports local health boards in their work to reach communities and groups and tackle barriers which may exist.

Local radio campaigns are run to raise awareness of the winter programme, and social media campaigns run to ensure the public are aware of the benefits of flu and/or COVID-19 vaccines for them or members of their family.

PHS has produced marketing toolkits for social media to support health boards to run local campaigns.