The flu vaccine is recommended for people at higher risk of getting seriously ill from Flu.
Flu is not just a heavy cold. Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it’s sometimes called seasonal flu. It’s a highly infectious disease with symptoms that come on very quickly. Colds are much less serious and usually start gradually with a stuffy or runny nose and a sore throat. A bad bout of flu can be much worse than a heavy cold.
The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, headache, aches and pains in the joints and muscles, and extreme tiredness. Healthy individuals usually recover within 2 to 7 days, but for some the disease can lead to hospitalisation, permanent disability or even death.
Flu vaccines help protect against the main types of flu virus circulating.
Eligibility
You can get the free NHS flu vaccine if you:
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza chapter 19)
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
- Carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
- Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- Frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer led occupational health scheme including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those
that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets) or Personal Health budgets, such as Personal Assistants
For more information about eligibility, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/vaccinations/flu-vaccine/
To book an appointment, please call us.
