Vaccination coverage in Wales
Published on: 24 September 2025 | 2 mins read | Publication size: 0.15 MB

Vaccination rates

Vaccination rates are below target.1,2,3,4 Every vaccination is a potential illness averted or life saved5

 



High uptake helps protect people who are too young or too ill to have vaccines themselves.6



There is an 11 percentage points difference in vaccination uptake between four year olds resident in the least and most deprived areas of Wales.7



Urban and university settings are at the highest risk of measles outbreaks due to lower vaccination rates among young people. Vaccination can prevent measles.8

Vaccination inequalities

Vaccination inequalities are associated with many factors, including age, geography, socio-economic status and ethnicity9

Variation in vaccination coverage rates (VCR) across Wales2,3,4,7

Vaccination Chart

Vaccination uptake

NHS Wales aims to reduce illness and mortality by increasing vaccination uptake10
The 2023 National Immunisation Framework sets out priorities for transforming vaccination in Wales:

Equity: Health boards should ensure fair access and opportunity to take up the offer of vaccination.

Digitally enabled vaccination: New solutions to support citizens and NHS delivery.

Vaccination literacy: Clear information and robust communications to improve public understanding of the importance of vaccination.10

References

  1. Senedd Cymru Welsh Parliament, ‘Preventable disease on the rise: targeting improvement in childhood vaccine uptake’, January 2025, accessed August 2025, available at https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/preventable-disease-on-the-rise-targeting-improvements-in-childhood-vaccine-uptake/.
  2. Public Health Wales Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, ‘Weekly Influenza and Accurate Respiratory Infection Report; Influenza Vaccination Data’, May 2025, available at https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/fluvaccine/weekly-influenza-and-acute-respiratory-infection-report/.
  3. Public Health Wales Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, ‘Wales COVID-19 Vaccination Weekly Surveillance Summary for the Spring 2025 campaign’, July 2025, available at https://www2.nphs.wales.nhs.uk/CommunitySurveillanceDocs.nsf/3dc04669c9e1eaa880257062003b246b/cf7a9a9adcddbb0a8025866b003a51a1/%24FILE/Wales%20COVID-19%20vaccination%20surveillance%20weekly%20report.pdf.
  4. Public Health Wales Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, ‘Statement on HPV vaccination rates in Wales’, January 2023, available at https://phw.nhs.wales/news/statement-on-hpv-vaccination-rates-in-wales/.
  5. NHS England, ‘NHS Vaccination Strategy’, December 2023, accessed December 2024, available at https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/nhs-vaccination-strategy/#summary.
  6. NHS111 Wales, ‘Vaccinations’, accessed August 2025, available at https://111.wales.nhs.uk/livewell/vaccinations/Why%20vaccination%20is%20important/.
  7. Public Health Wales Vaccine Preventable Disease Programme, ‘Vaccine uptake in children in Wales; COVER Annual report 2025’, June 2025, available at https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/- cover-national-childhood-immunisation-uptake-data/cover-archive-folder/annual-reports/cover-annual-report-202425.
  8. Public Health Wales, ‘Targeted action can help prevent Measles outbreaks in Wales’, July 2025, accessed September 2025, available at https://phw.nhs.wales/news/targeted-action-can-help-prevent-measles-outbreaks-in-wales/.
  9. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, ‘Vaccine uptake in the general population: NICE guideline’, May 2022, available at www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng218.
  10. Welsh Government, ‘National Immunisation Framework for Wales’, 2023, available at https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-10/national-immunisation-framework-for-wales.pdf
  • Publisher
    ABPI
  • Last modified
    24 September 2025
  • Last reviewed
    24 September 2025