Your NHS guide to vaccinations for you and your family

Vaccines for adults

There are no vaccinations that are routinely offered on the NHS to all adults. However, there are several vaccinations that are available on the NHS to adults in certain ‘at risk’ groups. These are:

Flu vaccine

Protects against: flu including swine flu.
Who needs it:

all people aged 65 years and over
all those with a long-term health condition
healthcare workers
all pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy

Given: every year starting in October/November.
More on the flu jab

Pneumococcal vaccine (PPV)

Protects against: some types of pneumococcal infection.
Who needs it:

people aged 65 and over
people with a long-term health condition

Given at: any time (one injection)
More on the pneumococcal jab

Chickenpox (varicella) vaccine

Protects against: chickenpox.
Who needs it:

healthcare workers who aren't immune
laboratory staff who could be exposed to varicella
healthy susceptible contacts of immunocompromised patients

Given at: any age (two doses given 4 to 8 weeks apart).
More on the varicella vaccine

Hepatitis B (hep B) vaccine

Protects against: hepatitis B.
Who needs it:

injecting drug users (including their partners and children and other people living with them)
people who change sexual partners frequently (including men who have sex with men, and male and female sex workers)
close family contacts of someone with a chronic hepatitis B infection
individuals receiving regular blood products, and their carers
people who have chronic kidney failure
people who have chronic liver disease
inmates of custodial institutions and some prison service staff
people who live in residential accommodation for those with learning difficulties
families that foster or adopt children who may have been at increased risk of hepatitis B infection
people travelling to, or going to live in, areas where there's a high or intermediate incidence of hepatitis B
individuals at occupational risk, such as healthcare workers, laboratory staff and staff of residential and other accommodation for those with learning difficulties, morticians and embalmers, and some emergency services personnel

Given at: any age where needed.
More on the hep B vaccine

Tuberculosis (BCG) vaccine

Protects against: tuberculosis (TB).
Who needs it:

people at occupational risk, such as healthcare workers, some laboratory staff, people who handle animal species that are susceptible to TB, some prison staff, those working in homes for older people, staff of hostels for homeless people and facilities for refugees and asylum seekers

Given at: any age.
More about the BCG jab