Teenage Td/IPV and MenACWY Immunisation Statistics Scotland
School year 2023/24

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) has changed name from Teenage Booster Immunisation Statistics Scotland to better reflect the immunisations covered by the report. This is an annual update on teenage Td/IPV and MenACWY immunisation coverage rates for pupils in their third and fourth years of secondary school (S3 and S4). Coverage is reported for the Td/IPV vaccine, which completes the course of childhood vaccines providing protection against tetanus, diphtheria and polio; and the MenACWY vaccine, which protects against meningitis and septicaemia (blood poisoning) caused by four strains of meningococcal bacteria – groups A, C, W and Y.

Main points

• Approximately two thirds of S3 pupils in 2023/24 received their Td/IPV and MenACWY vaccines and coverage was broadly similar to that seen in the previous year. Among S3 pupils who were eligible for the vaccines in 2023/24, coverage of Td/IPV vaccine was 68.9% (68.6% in 2022/23), and MenACWY vaccine coverage was 68.9% (68.7% in 2022/23).
• Pupils who miss the routine teenage booster immunisation sessions in S3 are offered the vaccines in S4. In 2023/24 an additional 6.9% of pupils received these vaccines when they were in S4, taking immunisation rates to above 75% by the end of S4 (Td/IPV 75.5%, MenACWY 75.6%).

Charts showing percentage coverage of Td/IPV and MenACWY immunisations by school years S3 and S4. Details are provided in the accompanying text

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Td/IPV and MenACWY immunisation coverage rates in S3 and S4 pupils in Scotland, from school year ending 2012 to 2024

• Pupils living in the most deprived quintile had lower coverage compared to those living in the least deprived quintile. In 2023/24, this difference in coverage was 24.7% and 24.8% for Td/IPV and MenACWY, respectively, in S3 pupils; and 21.6% and 21.9% for Td/IPV and MenACWY, respectively, in S4 pupils. These gaps have widened over time.
• Male pupils were less likely to receive the Td/IPV and MenACWY vaccines compared with female pupils. By the end of S4, 73.9% and 74.0% of male pupils were immunised, compared to 77.3% and 77.4% for female pupils (Td/IPV vaccine and MenACWY vaccines respectively).
• Coverage by ethnicity shows variation across both vaccines and school year. For S3 pupils, coverage of the Td/IPV vaccine was lowest in Gypsy/Traveller pupils (33.3%) and highest in two ethnicities: Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British, and Irish pupils (75.0%).
• Coverage by urban rural classification showed that children living in very remote small towns were less likely to be immunised across both class years. Coverage of the Td/IPV vaccination amongst children in S3 was lowest in very remote small towns (54.9%) and highest in both accessible small towns, and accessible rural areas (72.8%).

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 Td/IPV and MenACWY 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 Td/IPV and MenACWY immunisations in S5 and S6.

Further information for these immunisations can be found online at NHS Inform: vaccines for young people.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be November 2025.