Pneumococcal vaccine coverage
PHS vaccination surveillance dashboard

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) within the PHS Vaccination Surveillance dashboard provides the most up to date information on coverage of pneumococcal vaccination. Coverage is the proportion of eligible individuals who have been fully vaccinated in the past, regardless of when they received the vaccine. This represents a snapshot at a single point in time. Please note that PHS previously published pneumococcal vaccine coverage data in a joint publication with shingles pneumococcal vaccine coverage data. Previous releases of this report can be found here Pneumococcal and Shingles vaccine coverage- Public Health Scotland.

Main points

• As of 31 March 2025, coverage of the pneumococcal vaccine among the eligible population in Scotland was 71.2%.
• Specifically, among those aged 65 years and older, coverage was 77.4%. For those aged 2 to 64-years-old and who are at higher risk of developing complications from a pneumococcal infection, coverage was 55.5%.
• Coverage varied among NHS health boards, with NHS Shetland showing the highest coverage (79.1%) and NHS Ayrshire and Arran showing the lowest (49.7%).
• Coverage in the eligible population was lower among those living in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived areas (62.9% vs. 78.2%), a difference of 15.3%.
• Coverage varied by urban rural locality, with accessible rural areas reporting highest coverage and remote rural areas the lowest (72.8% vs. 68.0%, respectively).

Background

The pneumococcal vaccine provides protection against pneumococcal infections which may result in life-threatening invasive disease such as pneumonia, meningitis, and septicaemia. The pneumococcal vaccine is recommended for all people aged 65 years and over, and people aged 2 to 64 years old who are at higher risk of developing complications from a pneumococcal infection. A full list of those eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine is available on NHS inform. There is also a routine infant programme for babies from age 12 weeks. Further information on this programme is available in the Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland quarterly reports.

Further information

Pneumococcal vaccine coverage data are available on the Public Health Scotland - Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard.

The next release of this publication will be Q2 2026 (April to June 2026).