The first of our Flu vaccination clinics are live and available for our eligible patients to book, unlike previous years, GP’s and Pharmacies can not start administering flu vaccinations until the 3rd October 2024,except for pregnant women and children, who can have a flu vaccine from the 1st September 2024.
Our flu clinics will be running throughout autumn/winter starting from the 3rd October 2024.
Please see below for eligibility and further information on the flu vaccine this winter.
Influenza vaccination – Eligibility 2024/2025
Those eligible for a free NHS influenza vaccination in the during the 2024 – 2025 season are listed below.
Adults
- are aged 65 or over
- have certain long-term health conditions (see below for eligible health conditions)
- are pregnant
- live in a care home
- are the main carer for an older or disabled person, or receive a carer’s allowance
- live with someone who has a weakened immune system.
Frontline health and social workers can also get a flu vaccine through their employer.
Children
- Children who are aged 2 or 3 years on 31st August 2024 (born between 01/09/2020 and 31/08/2022 will receive a nasal flu vaccination administered by the practice.
- School-aged children (Reception to year 11) – School aged children (reception to year 11) will have their flu vaccine arranged by their school and have it administered in school.
- Children with certain long-term health conditions that put them at higher risk from flu can get a flu vaccine from their at school or at their GP Practice.
I am eligible for a flu vaccine – How do I book
All eligible patients (excluding school-aged children), will be invited by the practice to book their flu vaccine.
Most patients will be contacted by text message and asked to self-book their flu vaccine. This is the easiest way to book your vaccine, as it saves patients time by ringing the practice and patients can choose a convenient date and time for their flu vaccination appointment. Patients can also decline the flu vaccine if they do not want the flu vaccine using the text message invite.
For an example of how to this, please below;
For patients who do not have a mobile phone, we will invite you by letter or a member of our reception team will contact you.
What flu vaccine will I receive
Side effects of the flu vaccine
The most common side effects of the flu vaccine are mild and get better within 1 to 2 days.
They can include:
- pain or soreness where the injection was given
- a slightly raised temperature
- an aching body
More serious side effects such as a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) are very rare. The person who vaccinates you will be trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.
The injected flu vaccines used in the UK do not contain live flu viruses. They cannot give you flu.
How well the flu vaccine works and how long it lasts
The flu vaccine aims to protect you against the most common types of flu viruses.
There’s still a chance you might get flu after getting vaccinated, but it’s likely to be milder and not last as long.
The vaccine usually takes up to 14 days to work.
Protection from the flu vaccine goes down with time and the types of flu virus the vaccine protects against are updated each year. This is why it’s important to get the flu vaccine every year.