Teenage booster immunisation statistics Scotland
School year 2021/22

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides an annual update on teenage booster immunisation coverage rates for pupils in their third and fourth years of secondary school (S3 and S4). There are two teenage booster immunisations: the Td/IPV booster, which completes the course of childhood vaccines providing protection against tetanus, diphtheria and polio; and the MenACWY immunisation, which protects against meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by four strains of meningococcal bacteria (groups A, C, W and Y).

Main points

• Among S3 pupils who were eligible for the vaccines in 2021/22, coverage of Td/IPV vaccine was 71.6% (39.8% in 2020/21; 71.4% in 2019/20), and MenACWY vaccine coverage was 71.7% (39.6% in 2020/21; 71.6% in 2019/20).
• Pupils who miss the routine teenage booster immunisation sessions in S3 are offered the vaccines in S4. In 2021/22 an additional 35% of pupils received these vaccines when they were in S4, bringing immunisation rates up to 74.9% for Td/IPV and 73.8% for MenACWY by the end of S4.

• Pupils in more deprived areas were less likely to receive the Td/IPV and MenACWY vaccines. By the end of S4, 62.6% and 61.8% of pupils from the most deprived areas were immunised, compared with 84.8% and 82.9% from the least deprived areas (Td/IPV vaccine and MenACWY vaccines respectively).

Background

Vaccination programmes aim to protect the individual from many serious infectious diseases and to prevent their spread within the wider population.

In Scotland, teenage booster immunisations are routinely offered to pupils in S3 at around 14 years of age. Pupils not immunised in S3 are re-offered the vaccine(s) in S4. Pupils not fully immunised as part of the routine cohort can also be offered the teenage booster immunisations in S5 and S6.

Although schools were not routinely closed due to the pandemic during school year 2021/22, Health Boards have been working to catch up with the backlog in the school programme from previous years and this is reflected in the teenage booster immunisation coverage rates for 2021, which in many cases have not reached pre-pandemic levels. Updated figures for pupils will be published in the annual report for school year 2022/23 in November 2023.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 28 November 2023.