Flu

'Flu:

Saturday flu vaccinations will take place on October 1, 8 and 15. Appointments are available to book now - and can be booked online of you are registered with us to use the online service. Appointments at Wollaston are also bookable.

Weekday sessions will be available after the Saturday sessions are completed.

NHS Choices contains more information about 'Flu vaccination.

Who should have the seasonal flu jab?

For most people, seasonal flu is unpleasant but not serious and they recover within a week. However, certain people are at greater risk of developing serious complications of flu, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. These conditions may require hospital treatment. A large number of elderly people die from flu every winter.

The seasonal flu vaccine is offered free of charge to at-risk groups to protect them from catching flu and developing serious complications.

It is recommended you have a flu jab if you:

are 65 years of age or over
are pregnant (see below)
have a serious medical condition (see below)
are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility (not including prisons, young offender institutions or university halls of residence)
are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
are a frontline health or social care worker (see below)

Flu vaccine eligibility: medical conditions

The seasonal flu vaccine is offered free of charge to anyone who is over six months of age and has one of the following medical conditions:

chronic (long-term) respiratory disease, such as severe asthma, COPD or bronchitis
chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
chronic kidney disease
chronic liver disease
chronic neurological disease, such as stroke, TIA, polio syndrome
diabetes
a weakened immune system due to conditions, such as HIV or AIDs, or treatments that suppress the immune system, such as chemotherapy

Pregnant women

As was the case last year, this winter (2011/12) it is recommended that all pregnant women should have the seasonal flu vaccine irrespective of their stage of pregnancy.This is because there is good evidence to suggest that pregnant women have an increased risk of developing complications if they get flu, particularly the H1N1 strain.Studies have also shown that the inactivated flu vaccine can be safely and effectively administered during any trimester of pregnancy. The vaccine itself does not present an increased risk of complications to either the mother or baby. If you are the parent of a child (over six months) with a long-term condition, speak to your GP about the flu vaccine. Your child's condition may get worse if they catch flu.

Frontline health or social care workers and carers

Employers are responsible for ensuring that arrangements are in place for their frontline healthcare staff to have the seasonal flu vaccine.Outbreaks of flu can occur in health and social care settings with staff, patients and residents at risk of being affected.Therefore, it is very important that frontline health and social care professionals protect themselves by having the flu vaccine and in doing so prevent the spread of flu to colleagues and other members of the community.If you care for someone who is elderly or disabled, you should also be vaccinated against seasonal flu and you should ensure that the person you are caring for has the flu jab as well.

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