Adult vaccines and cancer screening in England: flu, shingles, RSV, cervical, breast and bowel screening, and the NHS Health Check
Published: Last checked: October 20264 min read
Short answer
The NHS offers pneumococcal and yearly flu vaccines at 65, shingles at 70 to 79 and RSV at 75 (some at-risk 65 to 74-year-olds from September 2026). Cervical screening is for ages 25 to 64, breast 50 to 71, bowel 50 to 74. The NHS Health Check is for ages 40 to 74.
In short
- This post is general information, not medical or legal advice. It is based on the NHS, NHSBSA, UKHSA and GOV.UK pages as they were on 18 October 2026 and applies to England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules.
- The NHS offers free vaccines and screening programmes to adults by age and risk group. Invitations usually go to the address registered with your GP, so GP registration and an up-to-date address matter.
- Vaccine information is based on UKHSA's routine immunisation schedule from 1 September 2026; screening information on NHS pages.
The rest is for members
Sign up for free to read the whole post.
Sign up and keep readingAlready a member? Log in
Official sources
This answer is based on the pages below. Check the source yourself before you decide.
- GOV.UK: Complete routine immunisation schedule
- NHS: NHS vaccinations and when to have them
- NHS: Cervical screening
- NHS: Bowel cancer screening
- NHS: NHS Health Check
- GOV.UK: Population screening, applying All Our Health
Source links are for members. Sign up for free