Castle PartnershipThis week we started planning our flu campaign to ensure we vaccinate as many of our patients as are eligible. As we start to plan the clinics and identifying patients, there is no need for you to contact us, we will be in touch to invite you to book into either one of the dedicated clinics on a Saturday Morning or during the week. We have provisionally highlighted the following Saturday mornings where we will hold a flu vaccination clinic for patients aged 65yrs and over at our three surgeries. These will be:
Over 65yr Clinic Dates:
- 1st October 2022 – Gurney Surgery
- 8th October 2022 – Tuckswood Surgery
- 15th October 2022 – Mile End Road Surgery
These dates are currently provisionally and will be dependent on vaccine delivery schedules. We will be starting with the over 65yrs as these are the first vaccines we receive at the start of each season.
Please keep an eye on the website for further information and news on the flu clinics and we will be in touch with you, if eligible, to book your flu vaccine appointment. So there is no need to do anything at this stage.
You can help us ensure that everyone receives their vaccinations at the right time by reading the FAQ’s below.
Recently there has been a change by the Department of Health and Social Care to the patients who will be eligible for a free flu vaccine this year. This now includes patients aged 50 to 64 years old without an underlying health condition. This change has happened after we had placed orders for the flu vaccine and will mean that we will be inviting those patients in this cohort later in the season, once additional vaccine stock has been secured. This is to ensure that those who are most at risk are vaccinated first. If you are 50-64 and you are in one of the other groups that is eligible for the flu vaccination, for example you have a health condition which puts you at risk from the flu, you will be invited earlier.
What is flu?
Flu occurs every year, usually in the winter, which is why it is sometimes called seasonal flu. It is a very infectious disease that can come on very quickly. The most common symptoms of flu are fever, chills, cough, headache, pains in your joints and muscles and extreme tiredness. Healthy people usually recover within a few weeks, but some people can develop serious life-threatening complications and need to be admitted to hospital.
Colds are much less serious and usually start with a stuffy or a runny nose, sore throat and cough.
How do we prevent the spread of flu?
Flu is unpredictable and there can be different strains of the virus each year and throughout the flu season. However, over recent years the flu vaccine has generally been very good at targeting the circulating strains.
The flu vaccine gives the best protection against flu. Flu vaccines help protect against the main types of flu viruses, although there’s still a chance you might get flu. If you do get flu after vaccination, it’s likely to be milder and not last as long. It is the best defence against the virus especially when combined with other measures such;
- wash your hands often with warm water and soap;
- use tissues to trap germs when you cough or sneeze;
- bin used tissues as quickly as possible;
- try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you have a high temperature or you do not feel well enough to do your normal activities.
The flu vaccine is available every year on the NHS to help protect adults and children who are most at risk of flu and its complications.
Can I have a free flu vaccination on the NHS?
Flu can affect anyone but if you have a long-term health condition flu can make it worse, even if the condition is well managed and you normally feel well.
Who should get the flu vaccine?
This year the flu vaccine is being offered free on the NHS to:
- all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2022
- those aged 6 months to under 65 years in clinical risk groups
- pregnant women
- those aged 65 years and over
- those in long-stay residential care homes
- carers
- close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- frontline health and social care staff including staff employed by the following types of social care providers without employer led occupational health schemes:
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a registered residential care or nursing home
-
registered domiciliary care provider
-
a voluntary managed hospice provider
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The following children are also eligible. These vaccines will be given by the School Immunisation Team and not the surgery.
- all primary school aged children (from reception to Year 6)
- children in School Year 7, 8 and 9 (secondary school)
I am almost 65, am I eligible now?
Yes. As with previous years, anyone who will be 65 years old by the 31st March 2023 will be entitled to receive a flu vaccine from the 65+ supply even before they physically turn 65.
For more information please see the Department of Health Website
Will I get the COVID vaccine at the same time?
At the current time there is still a degree of uncertainty about when the covid vaccine for the autumn booster will arrive and what vaccine we will receive. Some covid vaccines has to be prepared in a different method which will impact the speed of the flu clinics. As such and as a planning assumption we will not be planning for the administration of the flu vaccine and the covid vaccine at the same time at this stage. Flu is a serious illness and we do not want to delay the rollout of the vaccine due to uncertainty on the covid vaccine delivery and type.
This may change as we receive more information from NHS England and our Gurney surgery is likely to continue to be a local vaccination centre as it has been since January 2021 administering over 76,000 covid vaccines to date. Those eligible for a covid autumn booster will be contacted and invited in once further details have been received.
If you have any questions, then please contact the surgery and we will be more than happy to help.