Flu Vaccinations

Flu Vaccinations Still Available

The Practice still has a supply of Flu vaccinations available to patients over 65 and those under 65 with an eligible chronic disease*:

If you would like a Flu vaccination please call the surgery on 01243 608201 to book an individual appointment. We will also do "walk ins" as long as we have staff available - please ask at reception.

*Eligible chronic diseases are: Diabetes, Asthma (must be on 2 steroid inhalers), COPD, Patients with learning difficulties, Obesity, Stroke/TIA, Immunocompromised (HIV, Coeliac, high dose steroids), Heart failure, Palliative care patients.

Registered carers are also entitled to a flu vaccination.

Flu is a very contagious infection which can cause serious illness and fatality among older patients and those of any age with particular medical conditions or taking certain drugs including methotrexate.

This year, delivering the flu immunisation programme will be more challenging than ever because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have therefore significantly changed the format of our flu clinics to take into account social distancing to protect patients and staff from COVID-19.

Who is Eligible?

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Identified Groups

To receive a flu vaccination, you need to be in at least one of the following categories:

  • All Patients 65 and over (normal criteria)
  • All patients aged 50-64 years of age (new criteria this year)
  • Patients aged 18-65 in an at-risk group. These are: COPD, Asthma (if on 2 steroids), CHD, CKD, chronic liver disease, chronic neurological disease such as Parkinson’s, MND, Learning difficulties, Diabetes, patients with weakened immune system, patients on cancer treatment, patients who are morbidly obese.
  • Carers – registered or in receipt of carer’s benefit
  • Household contacts of immunocompromised individuals
  • Health care staff – those employed by a registered care or nursing home, or registered domiciliary care provider
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Health and Social Care Staff

You are eligible if you are employed by either;

  • A registered residential care/nursing home,
  • A registered domiciliary care provider, or
  • A voluntary managed hospice provider
  • or employed through Direct Payment (personal budgets or Personal Health Budgets) to deliver domiciliary care to patients and service users.

On the day of your Flu Vaccination

  • Please remember that all patients should wear a face covering.
  • Please wear appropriate clothing which you can quickly remove to give access to your upper arm.
  • Please come on your own wherever possible. Friends and relatives will be asked to wait outside of the Surgery unless they are required to provide assistance.
  • To avoid the build-up of large queues, please arrive at the time of your appointment
  • Please do not arrive before your scheduled appointment – we will not have any waiting room capacity for patients to sit and wait.
  • There may be limited parking available in the surgery car park as we will be using the area for a queuing system. 
  • When you arrive, you will be directed to where you need to wait.  There will be a socially-distanced queuing system in operation. 

Because of the administration required, we will not be able to offer any other services to those having a vaccine when we are running these vaccination clinics e.g. appointment booking or medication collection.

Thank you so much for your understanding and co-operation.

Information for over 65's Flu Vaccinations

DOES a TIV Cause any Side Effects?

The vaccine is a Trivalent Influenza Vaccine (TIV), which means it is targetted at three different strains of the virus. Like all vaccines, a TIV can cause side effects. Most reactions are mild or moderate and resolve spontaneously within 1 to 2 days.

Common Side Effects:

  • Muscle pain
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Pain and/or tenderness at the injection sit

Less Common Side Effects:

  • Redness, swelling, bruising, hardness at or close to the injection site
  • Sweating
  • Nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting
  • Joint pain
  • Fever, generally feeling unwell, shivering
  •  

a TIV contains inactivated virus parts, which cannot cause the flu. Flu vaccines do not protect against the common cold, which has similar symptoms to the flu.

What should I do in the case of an unusual side effect?

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed above . You can also report side effects directly via the Yellow Card Scheme at: yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

Page last reviewed: 14 February 2020
Page created: 14 February 2020