Details on scientific advice for receiving COVID-19 and flu vaccine: FOI release

Information requested

1. The earliest and latest scientific advice on reducing risk of becoming seriously ill or having to go to hospital by having

• Free flu vaccine
• Free COVID-19 vaccine

2. And total cost of both related only to public fund management i.e. scientific advice 1st and latest overall cost.

Response

1. Scientific advice on reducing risk of becoming seriously ill or having to go to hospital by having the free flu vaccine and free COVID-19 vaccine.

An exemption under section 25(1) Information otherwise accessible of FOISA applies to the information you have requested. Section 25 of FOISA applies when the information requested is already reasonably accessible to the public. This means that if the information can be found elsewhere, such as on a website, in a publication, or through another official source, we’re not required to provide it again under FOI. Please see the information and links below which will take you to the information you are looking for.

The Scottish Government’s decision-making throughout all vaccination programmes has been guided by the expert scientific advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The JCVI is an independent expert scientific advisory committee that advises government health departments in the four UK nations on immunisations and the prevention of infectious disease. The JCVI has the responsibility to provide high quality and considered advice and recommendations to the 4 nations Health Ministers following thorough risk and benefit analysis. They consider vaccine safety, efficacy and look at the impact and cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies.

We rely on the JCVI for clinical recommendations to deploy vaccination programmes, including COVID-19 and flu. Their considerations take into account all the latest scientific data on hospitalisations, deaths and vaccine effectiveness.

In regards to the most recent data on the COVID-19 vaccine programme, please see:

• JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in 2025 and spring 2026 - GOV.UK
• JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination in autumn 2026 and spring 2027 - GOV.UK

Their most recent statement on flu can be found here:

• JCVI statement on influenza vaccines for 2025 to 2026 - GOV.UK

Further information from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and also the full history of the flu programme, can be accessed via the JCVI’s landing page here.

You may also find it helpful to review the Green Book Chapters on both Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations:

Influenza: the green book, chapter 19 - GOV.UK
COVID-19: the green book chapter - GOV.UK

The Green Book, officially titled Immunisation against infectious disease is a comprehensive resource that offers detailed information on vaccines and vaccination procedures. It is regularly updated to reflect current policies and practices in immunisation. Both the Flu and COVID-19 chapters of the green book include sections on vaccine effectiveness.

The most up to date information on the levels of vaccine protection (i.e. vaccine effectiveness) afforded by the COVID-19 and flu vaccines in Scotland, for winter 2024/25, can be found in Public Health Scotland’s most recent ‘Viral respiratory diseases (including influenza and COVID-19) in Scotland surveillance report’ of 04 September 2025.

Data on the impact of flu and COVID-19 vaccination from earlier programmes can also be found on the Public Health Scotland website.

2. Total cost of the flu & COVID-19 vaccination programme, related only to public fund management

In regards to flu vaccine costs, an exemption under section 33(1)(b) Substantial prejudice to commercial interests of FOISA applies to some of the information you have requested. Section 33(1)(b) applies when releasing the information could significantly harm someone’s commercial interests, for example, their ability to compete, negotiate, or operate in a business environment. This could affect a company, public authority, or any other organisation. If disclosure would likely cause real commercial damage, the information may be withheld to protect those interests.

The published Scottish Government ‘Flu vaccination and COVID-19 vaccination budget’ for 2025/26 is £113.5 million. This budget supports a variety of measures across a number of vaccination programmes, not exclusively flu and COVID-19:

• NHS Territorial Health Board delivery funding for all vaccine programmes
• National vaccination digital infrastructure
• The Scottish Ambulance Service mobile vaccine outreach service, for all vaccine programmes
• NHS National Education Scotland workforce education provision, for all vaccine programmes
• NHS National Services Scotland National Procurement support, for all vaccine programmes
• Public Health Scotland ‘Scottish Vaccination & Immunisation Programme’ operational costs, for all vaccine programmes
• The National Vaccination Helpline (exclusively for flu and COVID)
• COVID-19 & flu vaccine supply and distribution costs
• Adult and child flu vaccine costs

In regards to COVID-19 vaccine costs, an exemption under section 17 information not held of FOISA applies to the information you have requested. Under FOISA, public authorities are only required to provide information they actually hold at the time a request is received. If the authority has the information but is simply storing it for someone else, or if it was given to them in confidence by the UK Government, it’s not considered “held” for FOI purposes. In those cases, the authority isn’t required to release it.

Supplies of COVID-19 vaccines have been procured on behalf of the four nations by the UK Government, as part of their COVID-19 emergency response. Information on COVID-19 vaccines costs may be held by the Department for Health and Social Care. Further information on how to contact them can be found here.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.