England CMO 2025 report on infections urges action
England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has published his 2025 Annual Report on infections, released on GOV.UK by the Department of Health and Social Care. If you teach or study public health, this is the year's set text. It shows how far we've come in protecting children and young adults, and where our focus now needs to shift.
For younger people in the UK, once-common infections are now rare. Thanks to immunisation and better care, the risks that frightened earlier generations have fallen to very low levels. The report credits vaccines and the NHS for this progress and sets out where we still have work to do.
The pattern is different in older age. The report is clear that most deaths linked to infection now occur in older adults. Infections are more likely to become severe in later life, and they can raise the chance of other problems such as stroke and heart attack for several weeks after recovery. That adds pressure on independence, mobility and social connection.
Even mild infections can reduce quality of life for older people, bringing pain, repeat hospital admissions and isolation. The practical takeaway is that we should be as systematic about preventing infections in older adults as we already are for children and young people. Recent vaccines against RSV, shingles and COVID-19 show what is achievable when programmes are planned and delivered well.
Vaccination remains our strongest shield. In childhood, vaccines protect against dangerous illnesses that used to cause meningitis, neurological damage and deaths, including meningococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae type b, measles and polio. Vaccines given in the school years also help to prevent cancers later in life, including cervical and liver cancer.
The UK still has some of the highest vaccine uptake rates in the world, but several are drifting down. Because immunisation protects the person and the people around them, keeping uptake high is a matter of community safety as well as individual choice. The call in the report is to reverse the decline.
Microbes adapt. Unlike many chronic conditions, infectious agents can evolve around our protections, from antibiotics to some vaccines. Antimicrobial resistance is part of this story. To stay ahead, we need steady, ongoing innovation across antibiotics, diagnostics and vaccines rather than short bursts that fade between crises.
Pandemics and epidemics will happen again. The report warns against lowering our guard between emergencies. Rapid response depends on readiness built in calmer times, from surveillance and laboratories to surge clinical capacity and confident local action.
England’s capability in rare, serious and imported infections is internationally respected. Maintaining specialist services and expertise protects people here and contributes to safety beyond our borders. That breadth matters because infectious threats travel.
Several leaders echo this system view. Professor Whitty says protecting children through vaccination is a major medical success that we must not risk by letting uptake fall, and he urges a more deliberate approach to prevention in older adults. Professor Susan Hopkins at UKHSA describes every epidemic as a test of the whole system, where primary care, hospitals, local authorities, academia, industry and government pull together to act early and sustain effort. Professor David Lalloo highlights the constant movement of dangerous infections worldwide and the need to keep UK research and clinical expertise strong. Professor Andy Pollard points to the NHS vaccination programme preventing thousands of severe infections each year and helping to keep older adults out of hospital.
What this means for you if you are learning or teaching: start with the idea of shared protection. Vaccines do not only protect one person; they reduce risk for classmates, families and communities. Think about older age as the next big frontier for prevention, and explore how antimicrobial resistance changes the rules by making familiar treatments less effective. Use recent RSV, shingles and COVID-19 vaccines as case studies for how science translates into fewer admissions.
The CMO’s annual reports have been published for over 150 years as independent assessments of England’s health. This year’s infections report is a reminder to keep doing the simple things well-high vaccination uptake, smart prevention in older age, and year-round preparedness-while advancing the science so we are ready for what evolves next.