New flu jabs drive targeting children from ethnic minority backgrounds in Bedford Borough

This follows new data which has revealed stark inequalities in uptake of the vaccination, particularly among young children from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Figures for the 2024/25 season shared with the Health and Wellbeing Board (September 24) showed that while nearly two-thirds (64.1 per cent) of White British two and three year olds received the jab, uptake was far lower among British Pakistani (29.1 per cent), Black Caribbean (38.5 per cent) and Black African (50 per cent) children.

Public health officials warned that low vaccination levels put these groups at higher risk of serious illness and contribute to extra pressure on NHS services. Nationally, flu vaccination is estimated to have prevented between 96,000 and 120,000 hospital admissions in England last winter.

To close the gap, Bedford Borough Council’s Public Health team is piloting a new project in four GP practices with large ethnic minority populations. The scheme will include: community-based flu clinics in trusted venues such as Family Hubs; co-produced communications developed with parents and listening sessions with parents and community leaders to tailor the campaign to local needs.

Jo Freedman, consultant in public health at Bedford Borough Council, said: “This year there’s a new offer for two and three year olds, and community pharmacies will be offering flu vaccine from October 1.

“The routine offer is through GPs but we hope the offer through community pharmacies will help increase access – and increase the uptake for this year.”

Ms Freedman said that although there had been “some small improvements” in uptake among pregnant women and school children last year, “uptake is still not really where we wanted to be. And we’re also seeing a lot of variation among different ethnic groups.”

Ms Freedman also highlighted outreach work already under way: “Last year during flu season our team worked with leaders in some of our South Asian communities and Black Caribbean communities and produced some short myth-busting videos for promoting flu vaccine in different languages - Urdu, Bengali and English.

“We’re sharing those again early this year, and we hope that will have some impact.”

A targeted pilot will also focus on two and three year olds from British Pakistani, Black Caribbean and Black African families. “We’ve identified quite a lot of disparity in uptake between some of our non-White ethnic groups and White British ethnic groups,” Ms Freedman said.

“So we’re holding listening sessions and focus groups with parents who have young children to identify barriers or facilitate the flu vaccine around them, using behavioural science frameworks.

“[If a need is identified] we could consider bespoke clinics in trusted community venues.”

The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed to support public health staff in amplifying flu vaccination messages this winter.

Who can get the flu jab this year

From 1 September 2025:

• Pregnant women
• Children aged 2–3 years
• School-aged children (Reception to Year 11)
• Children aged 6 months+ in a clinical risk group

From 1 October 2025:

Adults aged 65 and over Adults under 65 in clinical risk groups Care home residents Carers and close contacts of immunocompromised individuals Health and social care workers without employer-led schemes

For details visit the Bedford Borough Council Health Protection page speak to your GP practice, or ask at your local pharmacy.