The flu is an unpleasant illness caused by the influenza virus infecting the respiratory system, including your nose, throat and lungs. Flu will often get better on its own, but it can make some people seriously ill, and can be life threatening. In a bad flu year on average around 30,000 people in the UK die from flu and pneumonia.

The flu vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine. It’s offered every year on the NHS to help protect people at risk of getting seriously ill from flu.

Eligible patients will receive a text invitation to book available appointments. Our clinics will be open from October 3rd to October 18th. To secure your spot, please book your appointment as soon as you receive the invitation. New appointment slots will be released daily throughout this period

 Patients for whom a mobile number is not held, will be contacted separately. 

If you are eligible, but you have not received a text message, please contact us via eConsult or telephone the practice, if you do not have access to our website.

The practice will be providing vaccines to the following patients:

• Children aged 2 & 3
• Adult aged 65 & over 

• Aged 6 months to 64 years in at-risk groups, including people with the following health conditions:

      - Respiratory (lung) diseases, including asthma

      - Heart disease, kidney disease or liver disease

      - Neurological (brain or nerve) conditions including learning            disability

      - Diabetes

      - A severely weakened immune system

• Patients who are pregnant 

The flu vaccine is given free on the NHS to people who:

• have certain health conditions
• are pregnant
• are in long-stay residential care
• receive a carer’s allowance, or are the main carer for an older or disabled person who may be at risk if you get sick
• live with someone who is more likely to get infections (such as someone who has HIV, has had a transplant or is having certain treatments for cancer, lupus or rheumatoid arthritis)
• frontline health or social care workers.

 If your child is eligible for a Nasal Flu vaccine you will be receiving an invitation from the practice to book your appointment with our Practice nurse.
If unable to book the appointment online, please give us a call and we will book this for you.

There are also two pop-up clinics at UCLH where your child can be vaccinated. The clinics are at ULCH Atrium (235 Euston Road, NW1 2BU) on Saturday 21^st and Saturday 28^th September. You can use the following booking link to book your child’s appointment: https://bit.ly/uclh-paeds-imms. See information about the clinics on the poster attached to this message, and book directly via the link.

From 1 September 2024, those who turn 75 and those age 75 to 79 will be eligible for a free vaccine to protect them from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

RSV is an infectious disease of the airways and lungs. RSV infection often causes symptoms similar to a cold, including:

• cough
• sore throat
• sneezing
• a runny or blocked nose

It can also make you become wheezy or short of breath and lead to pneumonia and other life-threatening conditions. There is no specific treatment, and most infections will get better by themselves. Every year thousands of older adults need hospital care for RSV, and some of them will die. RSV can be more severe in people with medical conditions such as heart or lung disease or a weakened immune system.

RSV infection is common in young children but is most serious for small babies and for older people.

A vaccine to help protect against RSV will be available on the NHS from 1 September 2024.

You'll be able to get the vaccine if:

• you're aged 75 to 79
• you're 28 weeks pregnant or more – this will help protect your baby for the first few months after they're born

The practice will be in contact with you if you are eligible, please respond to our invitation to get protected as soon as possible.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv/