Flu Vaccinations : Don’t Take the Risk this Season 2022!

Posted on August 13th, 2021

Flu Vaccinations Available from 3 Oct 2022! – We will be sending invitation text messages from 1 Sept, so please wait until you receive these before calling to book your appointment!

Book your appointment with nurse if you fall in any of the groups below:

• Patient who are over 65 years old
• Patients who are 6mths to 64 years old and are in the chronic medical conditions categories
• Children aged 2-3 years old
• Pregnant women
• All other patients who are 50 years old and under 64 years old who have no known chronic medical conditions **

**Please note that people in the 50-64-year old age group who have no known chronic medical conditions can book for the flu vaccination from 1 Nov 2022 or can visit a local pharmacy to have their vaccination. We have had to prioritise, to ensure that those who are most at risk are vaccinated first.  Vaccine supply arrangements have been made.

We usually plan our flu campaign carefully as there are various factors at play. This year we expect it to be as challenging as in the previous year for the following reasons:

• Social distancing; patient and staff safety;  and infection control guidelines limit us in how may patients we can vaccinate.
• Additional cohort announced by the Government.  This significant new group of people aged 50 to 64 years old will be eligible for the free flu vaccine and will be invited later in the season for a vaccination or can obtain the flu vaccination from a pharmacy.
• We are dependent on vaccine suppliers, for timely vaccine deliveries. These come at different times for different cohorts. Child Flu vaccine is centrally supplied.
• To facilitate the additional cohort additional capacity needs to be arranged during these unprecedented times and we have to prioritise in terms of those at greater risk.
• Challenges in managing capacity and arranging vaccine supplies when demand can be unpredictable as patients can choose where to have the vaccine, at their GP surgery or at a pharmacy.

We thank our patents in advance for arriving for the appointments in a timely manner, with a face covering or a mask necessary. Thus helping us to keep all patients and our staff safe at all times and at the same time helping us sustain our services.

Please help us to help you by co-operating  and only telephone to book your seasonal flu appointment after you receive an SMS inviting you. Please rest assured that we will have enough vaccines.

Further Information:

• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/flu-influenza-vaccine/
• https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-flu-programme-in-history-to-roll-out-for-winter-2021