GP practices are required to participate in a national vaccines and immunisations catch-up campaign each year, as a requirement of the GP contract – the 2026/27 campaign will focus on the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMR/V) vaccination, given the recent outbreaks of measles and the removal of England’s elimination status.
Criteria 1 – runs from June 2026 to March 2027
- Children 1 year to less than 6 years missing one or more doses of MMR
- Practices must recall patients/parents, minimum of 3 invitations:
- Invite 1 – Offer of an appointment
- Invite 2 – Offer of an appointment, confirm receipt
- Invite 3 – Healthcare professional discussion with parent/guardian (F2F or telephone)
- Guidance suggests consider flexible appointments to meet the needs of the cohort and practices should continue to follow-up patients following their 3 invites
- Guidance also details further actions where there continues to be no response
Criteria 2 – 6-week period from 7th July 2026
NHS England will run a national invitation campaign targeting children aged six years up to and including 11 years who are missing either one or two doses of a measle-containing vaccine. The invitation will advise parents/ guardians to contact their child’s GP to book a vaccination appointment or request that their child’s health record is updated if they have already had two doses of the vaccine. Practices do not need to have a recall process, however, you need to ensure you have sufficient capacity to meet the expected increase in demand for MMR/V vaccination appointments.
There is a payment of £12.06 per vaccination, claimable via CQRS.
For more information visit: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/confirmation-national-vaccines-immunisations-catch-up-campaign-2026-27/
