If you or someone you care for is eligible for a free flu vaccination, don’t wait for winter to arrive before making an appointment, Bath and North East Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group (BaNES CCG) has said.
GPs and pharmacists can provide the vaccination, which is the safest way to help protect against flu.
Those eligible for free vaccinations include people aged 65 years and older, people with long term conditions such as diabetes or asthma, pregnant women and children aged 2–4 years and those in primary school years 1-3.
However, less than half of people eligible, except those in the 65 years and older age group, took up the offer of a flu vaccination last year.
Dr Ruth Grabham, the CCG’s Medical Director and a GP at Newbridge Surgery in Bath, emphasised that if you’re eligible for a free vaccine, it’s because you need it.
She said: “Flu can lead to some really serious complications in people whose immune systems may be vulnerable.
“There are myths every year that circulate about the flu vaccine, but as a GP I can honestly say that it’s the best protection you can get against catching the flu. It is clinically safe, effective and developed based on the latest available research,” she said.
For most healthy people, having the flu usually means spending a few days in bed with fever, chills, headaches and aches and pains in the joints. However, people who are more susceptible to the effects of flu can end up with infections like bronchitis and pneumonia, which can put them in hospital.
This year, parents of children aged 2–4 years and in years 1–3 at primary school are especially encouraged to take up the offer of a free flu vaccination for their child, even if they had it last year.
It is given via a pain-free nasal spray, which avoids the need for children to have an injection.
In B&NES, children aged two to four years old can visit their GP for the nasal spray vaccination and parents are encouraged to contact their GP practice to book an appointment.
For children in school years 1–3, school nurses are running vaccination clinics in primary schools.
Parents of children who live in B&NES but attend a school in Gloucestershire should call children’s community services on 01225 831666 to make arrangements for getting the flu vaccine.
1 Comment
lbhajdu1 .
Thursday 13th October, 2016 at 18:22No need to worry, I’m not putting it off. I’m declining it outright. No Thanks.
“GPs and pharmacists can provide the vaccination, which is the safest way to help protect against flu.” – I don’t think that’s true at all. Given that known side effects of the vaccine include GBS. Safer methods would be a positive pressure room for immune compromised individuals for example. This statement is just an outright lie.